## 5 Discussion and Conclusions  
The method presented in this paper answers the primary research question of quantifying the environmental impacts during the production phase of low Earth orbit constellation satellites. The key features of this method include its purpose, which is to predict the mass budget necessary for performing life cycle assessment (LCA). The procedure involves parametric estimation of propellant mass from FCC orbital data and using the average mass budget method, space systems budget allocation technique, and propellant mass value to partition dry mass in accordance with ESA LCI database for estimating the final mass budget. It utilizes Simapro as an LCA tool to perform the analysis. This method \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l l} \hline \hline
**Midpoint Indicators** & **Description of Impact Category** & **kPt** \\ \hline Photochemical ozone & Photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP): & \\ formation HH & Measurement of the potential contribution to & 0.368 \\  & photochemical ozone formation [67]. & \\ \hline Respiratory inorganics & Disease incidence & 0.598 \\ \hline Non-cancer human & Comparative toxic unit for humans (CTUh): A metric & \\ health effects & representing the estimated increase in morbidity in the & 1.88 \\  & total human population per unit mass of a chemical & \\  & emitted, typically measured in cases per kilogram. & \\ \hline Cancer human health & Comparative toxic unit for humans (CTUh): An index & \\ effects & expressing the estimated increase in morbidity in the & \\  & total human population per unit mass of a chemical & 1.26 \\  & emitted, measured in cases per kilogram. & \\ \hline Acidification terrestrial & Accumulated exceedance (AE): A measure describing & \\  & the alteration in critical load exceedance of the sensitive & \\  & area in terrestrial and primary freshwater ecosystems, & \\  & influenced by the deposition of acidifying substances. & \\ \hline Eutrophication & Phosphorus equivalents: Indication of the extent to & \\  & which the emitted nutrients reach the freshwater end & \\  & compartment, with phosphorus considered as the & \\  & limiting factor in freshwater ecosystems. & \\ \hline Eutrophication & Nitrogen equivalents: Representation of the extent to & \\  & which the emitted nutrients reach the marine end & \\  & compartment, with nitrogen considered as the limiting & \\  & factor in marine water ecosystems. & \\ \hline Eutrophication & Accumulated exceedance (AE): A measure representing & \\  & the alteration in critical load exceedance of the sensitive & \\  & area, influenced by the deposition of eutrophying & \\  & substances. & \\ \hline Ecotoxicity freshwater & Comparative toxic unit for ecosystems (CTUe): A & \\  & measure expressing an estimate of the potentially & \\  & affected fraction of species (PAF) integrated over time & \\  & and volume per unit mass of a chemical emitted (PAF & \\  & m\({}^{3}\) year/kg). & \\ \hline Land use & Soil quality index. & 0.044 \\ \hline Water scarcity & m\({}^{3}\) Water eq. deprived. & 4.34 \\ \hline Resource use, energy & \begin{tabular}{l} Abiotic resource depletion fossil fuels (ADP-fossil): It is \\ based on the lower heating value, indicating the \\ depletion of fossil fuel resources. \\ \end{tabular} & 1.11 \\ \hline Resource use, minerals & \
\begin{tabular}{l} Abiotic resource depletion (ADP ultimate reserve) \\ \end{tabular} & 58 \\ and metals &
\begin{tabular}{l} Abiotic resource depletion (ADP ultimate reserve) \\ \end{tabular} & 58 \\ \hline Total & & 76 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 6: _Cont._requires data such as FCC orbital data, the satellite's total mass value, and the type of propulsion subsystem. The expected results are presented in terms of midpoint indicators. A major advantage of this method is its ability to predict the environmental footprint of any constellation without needing the detailed mass budget required for performing LCA.