Editing Satellite (section)

=== Resource use ===
Resource use is difficult to monitor and quantify for satellites and [[launch vehicle]]s due to their commercially sensitive nature. However, [[aluminium]] is a preferred metal in satellite construction due to its lightweight and relative cheapness and typically constitutes around 40% of a satellite's mass.<ref name="schulz">{{cite journal |last1=Schulz |first1=Leonard |last2=Glassmeier |first2=Karl-Heinz |title=On the anthropogenic and natural injection of matter into Earth's atmosphere |journal=Advances in Space Research |date=2021 |volume=67 |issue=3 |pages=1002–1025 |doi=10.1016/j.asr.2020.10.036 |arxiv=2008.13032 |bibcode=2021AdSpR..67.1002S}}</ref> Through mining and refining, aluminium has numerous negative environmental impacts and is one of the most carbon-intensive metals.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Farjana |first1=Shahjadi Hisan |last2=Huda |first2=Nazmul |last3=Mahmud |first3=M.A. Parvez |title=Impacts of aluminum production: A cradle to gate investigation using life-cycle assessment |journal=Science of the Total Environment |date=2019 |volume=663 |pages=958–970 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.400 |pmid=30739864 |bibcode=2019ScTEn.663..958F}}</ref> Satellite manufacturing also requires rare elements such as [[lithium]], [[gold]], and [[gallium]], some of which have significant environmental consequences linked to their mining and processing and/or are in limited supply.<ref name="Gaston">{{cite journal |last1=Gaston |first1=Kevin |last2=Anderson |first2=Karen |last3=Shutler |first3=Jamie |last4=Brewin |first4=Robert |last5=Yan |first5=Xiaoyu |title=Environmental impacts of increasing numbers of artificial space objects |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment |date=2023 |volume=21 |issue=6 |pages=289–296 |doi=10.1002/fee.2624 |bibcode=2023FrEE...21..289G |hdl=10871/132935 |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Norgate |first1=Terry |last2=Haque |first2=Nawshad |title=Using life cycle assessment to evaluate some environmental impacts of gold production |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |date=2012 |volume=29 |pages=53–63 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.01.042 |bibcode=2012JCPro..29...53N}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Flexer |first1=Victoria |last2=Baspineiro |first2=Celso |last3=Galli |first3=Claudia |title=Lithium recovery from brines: A vital raw material for green energies with a potential environmental impact in its mining and processing |journal=Science of the Total Environment |date=2018 |volume=639 |pages=1188–1204 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.223 |pmid=29929287 |bibcode=2018ScTEn.639.1188F |hdl=11336/91034 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> Launch vehicles require larger amounts of raw materials to manufacture and the [[Booster (rocketry)|booster]] stages are usually dropped into the ocean after fuel exhaustion. They are not normally recovered.<ref name="Gaston" /> Two empty boosters used for [[Ariane 5]], which were composed mainly of steel, weighed around 38 tons each,<ref>{{cite web |title=Boosters (EAP) |url=https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Launch_vehicles/Boosters_EAP |website=The European Space Agency |access-date=10 April 2024 |archive-date=6 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306132210/https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Launch_vehicles/Boosters_EAP |url-status=live }}</ref> to give an idea of the quantity of materials that are often left in the ocean.