Launches and the environment - Lessons learned

An evaluation is presented of the consequences of NASA's study of the ways in which the launch of a Space Shuttle generates a plume of HCl and Al2O3; in combination with water from the Shuttle's sound-suppressor cooling water system, these substances can create a corrosive and hard-to-remove Al2O3 coating on nearby surfaces. Attention is given to the site-specific character of such environmental complications, the need to involve environmental-risk specialists in hardware-development teams, and the nonlinearity of many environmental impacts.