Space tourism sparking environmental concerns over its carbon footprint

Virgin Galactic's SpaceshipTwo takes off for a suborbital test flight of the VSS Unity on December 13, 2018, in Mojave, California. Photo: AFP

After years of waiting, Richard Branson's journey to space this month on a Virgin Galactic vessel was supposed to be a triumphant homecoming. Instead, the jaunt attracted significant criticism – about its carbon footprint.

With Jeff Bezos completing a suborbital flight on a Blue Origin rocket on July 20, and Elon Musk's SpaceX planning an all-civilian orbital mission in September, the nascent space tourism industry finds itself facing tough questions about its environmental impact.Right now, rocket launches as a whole don't happen often enough to pollute significantly.