Bloomberg saw a threat to rocket launches due to COVID-demand for oxygen

A summer rise in coronavirus cases and the need to divert liquid oxygen supplies to hospitals have threatened U.S. space launches , BLOOMBERG reported.

Florida, where the NASA spaceport is located, experiences the greatest need for oxygen. A number of cities in the state have introduced water use restrictions as some water treatment plants use oxygen as part of the disinfection process.

The space industry, which uses liquid oxygen as rocket fuel, fears launch delays as patients on ventilators take precedence in the oxygen supply chain. “People come first,” said US Compressed Gas Association vice president of technical and regulatory affairs Richard Craig.

On Aug. 27, NASA and United Launch Alliance (a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin) announced they would delay the September launch of climate-tracking satellite Landsat 9 by a week due to restrictions faced by nitrogen supplier Airgas. “The current need for medical liquid oxygen due to the pandemic has affected the delivery of the required liquid nitrogen,” NASA explained. An Airgas spokesman said the company is "focusing all available resources to meet customer demand for medical oxygen during the pandemic."