Reference Datasets of Primary Rocket Engine Emissions for Global Launch Inventories

Reference Datasets of Primary Rocket Engine Emissions for Global Launch Inventories | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Reference Datasets of Primary Rocket Engine Emissions for Global Launch Inventories Steffen Callsen, Moritz Herberhold, Jascha Wilken, Martin Sippel This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9353704/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Research on the radiative forcing and climate impact of emissions from the space transportation sector remains in its early stages. A critical component of advancing this field is the development of accurate global emission inventories, which depend fundamentally on the precise characterization of rocket engine exhaust products. One major current limitation is the reliance on simplified exhaust datasets that fail to capture the chemical and mass flow complexities introduced by different engine turbopump cycles. To address this gap, this study establishes a comprehensive new reference dataset of primary rocket engine emissions (modeled up to the nozzle exit plane). The dataset is anchored by a consistent 2200 kN thrust-class baseline, encompassing major cryogenic propellants, a hypergolic combination, and a solid rocket motor. For liquid propellant systems, both closed cycle (staged combustion) and open cycle (gas generator) architectures are evaluated. Additionally, an exploratory methodology is introduced to assess the impacts of fuel film cooling by modeling a fraction of the total mass flow at a distinctly fuel-rich oxidizer-to-fuel ratio. Both the specific engine cycle and the implementation of film cooling are demonstrated to be critical factors in predicting solid carbon (black carbon) exhaust fractions. Finally, these newly established reference datasets are compared against existing inventories. By employing 0D equilibrium combustion calculations at realistic oxidizer-to-fuel ratios and explicitly accounting for the distinct mass flows of different turbopump cycles, this study provides a highly consistent exhaust dataset to improve the fidelity of future atmospheric and climate models. Rocket Engine Primary Emissions Global Launch Inventories Staged Combustion Gas Generator Solid Rocket Motor Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 14 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 11 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 11 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 10 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 09 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 08 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9353704","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":627256301,"identity":"2abc854a-f63e-4bbd-8bb8-52aa929b565a","order_by":0,"name":"Steffen Callsen","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+0lEQVRIie2Rr24CQRCHZ0NymL2eRXGvsKQC28eohJCAwp84MYRkZbGQ8BB9hN1Msph7AASCSxMUojhqLh3+mJo5W7Gf2B3z7fx+WYBI5B+SI8B3wUOGnYXjuw87PrWgmABqXfHQcwpvyitQm5I8FfP2UMbYquRLj644gOl69NfiMPug9AjnQuhikzG66gRG8/u6Os031DVqWwlrgh5+XSyBuUVSluaflEAntZKSXdA3rGQ1+p+GZuauNOIWhZ4rm3cOmCKNHgoK9cN0gC6Q7u1r7hJosGHFb4NQf0k1upL62Wri62tJ+cvOquO5FII9+fsRrl2IRCKRiMQvX5Fgzxzk3/0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Steffen","middleName":"","lastName":"Callsen","suffix":""},{"id":627256302,"identity":"06bc8cdc-b37f-4745-ad49-18b0a8ed481d","order_by":1,"name":"Moritz Herberhold","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Moritz","middleName":"","lastName":"Herberhold","suffix":""},{"id":627256303,"identity":"75d34e21-1210-440e-8848-2616aad4689e","order_by":2,"name":"Jascha Wilken","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jascha","middleName":"","lastName":"Wilken","suffix":""},{"id":627256304,"identity":"4032ef23-3d9a-4249-ae34-ea5057259878","order_by":3,"name":"Martin Sippel","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"German Aerospace Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Martin","middleName":"","lastName":"Sippel","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-08 08:10:36","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9353704/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9353704/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108805332,"identity":"51d73aa4-4c61-412a-9e97-77b46674336e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-08 15:25:36","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1814409,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PaperReferencedatasetsofprimaryrocketengineemissionsforgloballaunchinventories.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9353704/v1_covered_76071c76-c72b-4fa7-ba76-e785bc527cfb.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Reference Datasets of Primary Rocket Engine Emissions for Global Launch Inventories","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":true,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"ceas-space-journal","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"ceas","sideBox":"Learn more about [CEAS Space Journal](http://link.springer.com/journal/12567)","snPcode":"12567","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/12567/3","title":"CEAS Space Journal","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Rocket Engine, Primary Emissions, Global Launch Inventories, Staged Combustion, Gas Generator, Solid Rocket Motor","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9353704/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9353704/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eResearch on the radiative forcing and climate impact of emissions from the space transportation sector remains in its early stages. 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Additionally, an exploratory methodology is introduced to assess the impacts of fuel film cooling by modeling a fraction of the total mass flow at a distinctly fuel-rich oxidizer-to-fuel ratio. Both the specific engine cycle and the implementation of film cooling are demonstrated to be critical factors in predicting solid carbon (black carbon) exhaust fractions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinally, these newly established reference datasets are compared against existing inventories. 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