Feds tell European Space Agency it's unhappy with plan to drop rocket in Arctic waters
Soviet-era rockets use fuel so toxic that almost every space program has moved away from it
The Canadian Press Posted: Oct 13, 2017 12:12 PM CT Last Updated: Oct 13, 2017 1:20 PM CT
The federal government has told the European Space Agency it's unhappy about plans to launch a satellite on Friday that would drop a rocket stage likely containing toxic fuel in the sensitive waters of the Canadian Arctic.
The European Space Agency's Sentinel-5P satellite was launched Friday by a Rokot missile from the Plesetsk launch pad in northwestern Russia. The satellite will map the global atmosphere every day, helping study air pollution.
The second stage of the rocket, containing up to a tonne of unburned fuel, is expected to splash down in the waters off Baffin Island.
Brian Maxwell of Global Affairs Canada says they have concerns about the impact on the sensitive Arctic ecosystem.
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/european-space-agency-rocket-arctic-1.4353476