Ron Garret writes:

In article ,
David Dyer-Bennet wrote:

Matt Whiting writes:

If that is the case, then I'm about 99% certain that the above is
urban legend as the shuttle carries its own oxidizer for its fuel.
You don't see air intakes anywhere on the shuttle do you? I really
doubt it depletes the atmosphere of oxygen in any significant way.

The shuttle certainly doesn't burn atmospheric oxygen, no. On the
other hand, it produces high volumes of combustion products, and I
wouldn't be shocked to discover the reaction hasn't gone to
completion, and the stuff left reacts with the air in some way or
other.

Or at least, I'd want expert advice before I walked into a cloud of
the stuff :-).

The space shuttle burns hydrogen. Its only combustion product is water
vapor.

During launch, they are also burning the solid boosters.
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