A Japanese startup called Interstellar Technologies Inc. trumpeted in a statement that the company was able to kickstart ZERO, its space rocket engine, in a 10-second "static fire test" in Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island prefecture. And powering up the rocket's engine is liquid biomethane, derived from cow dung sourced from Hokkaido dairy farms.
Beyond the awe factor of seeing a rocket engine first burst into life, the fact that it runs on fuel derived from cow dung is indeed an impressive milestone, because it addresses a concern that critics have raised about space rockets and off-planet expeditions: their environmental toll.
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