No nasa space launches now- partisan fighting and controversies prevent all funding Handberg 7-25
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EnvironmentSpace is uniquely tied to humanity- space ethics necessary to protect space and humanity Williamson 06 (Independent Space Technology Consultant and technical author, graduate in physics and astrophysics, a Chartered Physicist, Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society, professional lecturer in space technology, and an External Examiner for Salford University in the UK) Mark Williamson American Institute of Aeronautics “Space: The Fragile Frontier” http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1563477769/spaceviews The fourth principle addresses the thesis of protection of the space environment and recognizes that parts of that environment might have a value in their own right, whether life exists there or not. Principle 6 extends this by supporting the establishment of “protected zones” on the Moon and other bodies. Although it would be naïve to expect that one person’s initial suggestions could form a policy of space ethics for the whole of mankind, we have to start somewhere, and, as Livingston freely admits, any code should be expected to evolve as new issues arise. Contrary to the opinions of detractors, he believes that a successful code would actually promote the growth of space commerce. Moreover, says Livingston, “if the commercial space industry does not develop its own effective professional code of ethics, then government-imposed regulations will certainly fill the void. Should this occur, future development would probably be far more difficult and costly.” This is almost certainly the case. If an ethical code or policy is to be developed for space, it is important that the majority of the space community, or space profession, is intimately involved. If it is not, the profession risks having the job done for it by politicians and members of the general public, who for their own reasons might wish to place restrictions on space development, or ban it altogether. Jacques Arnould, an ethicist with the French space agency CNES, is convinced that the space community should take “ownership” of a policy of space ethics. He believes that it is important for leaders of space policy and programs to undertake ethical studies and “take part in ethical reflection and consideration in the name of all humanity” He adds that “ethically correct” is a contemporary and commonplace term, and one which space enterprise cannot ignore. Although some believe ethical consideration of space activity to be nothing more than an intellectual exercise or “a way of sugaring the poll for public opinion on the space budget,” Arnould does not subscribe to this notion. “Space development is not simply a useful activity to be regulated by codes of good will or common legislation for human activities,” he says. “Space is also characterized by scientific and even mythical purposes. Through space, humanity discovers and, simultaneously, fulfills part of its own nature and the great questions which animate it, such as its origin and its destiny…” In other words, it is too important to be left to the politicians. The risk of not adopting a proactive stance is illustrated by the fate of the terrestrial nuclear power industry, which has been wounded- perhaps fatally- by a combination of scientific ignorance among the general public, effective campaigning by antinuclear groups, and bad publicity surrounding nuclear accidents. The nuclear profession, which includes scientists, engineers, and policy makers, has done too little too late to counter the rhetoric of the antinuclear lobby, with the result that “nuclear” is now widely considered a dirty word. In fact, the word is now so “politically incorrect” that the medical profession has all but ceased referring to its NMR body scanners as nuclear magnetic resonance devices, preferring the sanitized “magnetic resonance imager.” The ramifications of antinuclear campaigning within the space industry have also been significant. Research into nuclear-powered rockers (e.g. NERVA) was curtailed decades ago and, more recently, anticnuclear activists in the United States forced a moratorium on the use of radioisotope thermo-electric generators (RTGs) in planetary spacecraft (staging protests at the launch of Cassini to Saturn). Although there are signs that NASA is willing to resist this and restart work on RTGs and other nuclear systems, the freedom to explore the solar system beyond the orbit of Mars has already been compromised and could be once again. This example shows that an ethical policy must work both ways. A policy of space ethics must not only protect the space environment, but must also protect the rights of those who with to explore and develop it. A balance must be struck. This begs the question of who should be involved in the derivation of an ethical code for space. Military/ EconomyDebris Destroys Space Readiness Scheetz 6 [Lori Scheetz: J.D. Candidate, Georgetown University Law Center, Georgetown International Environmental Law Review Georgetown International Environmental Law Review Fall, 2006 19 Geo. Int'l Envtl. L. Rev. 57, Infusing Environmental Ethics into the Space Weapons Dialouge, Fri Ultimately, these collisions could lead to a chain reaction, creating a halo of debris and making space virtually unusable for peaceful purposes, such as communications and GPS satellites. n85Furthermore, space debris could harm or destroy current military space applications and thus actually compromise the use of space for national security purposes. Steven Mirmina, a senior attorney with NASA, asserts, "Maintaining the environment of outer space for future use may also be considered an issue of national security. If certain orbits in outer space become so laden with debris that they are no longer usable, the U.S. may encounter difficulty in achieving some of its national security goals." US economic and military security rely on satellites Dowd 2 [ Alan W. Dowd: Senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research., November 22, 2002, Taking the High Ground: The U.S. Military Marches into Space, http://www.hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=publication_details&id=2094&pubType=HI_Articles] Today, “Space-based capabilities have become an integral part of American military operations,” according to General Ralph Eberhart, commander of U.S. Space Command. Entire units, such as the 527th Space Aggressor Squadron and 76th Space Control Squadron, are conducting war games set in space and working to prevent a September 11 or December 7 from ever happening in the heavens. Indeed, the Air Force has opened a new Space Warfare School, and the Army just graduated its first class from its own Space Operations program. As the Rumsfeld Commission ominously observes, “We are now on the threshold of a new era of the Space Age, devoted to mastering operations in space.” However, it would be a mistake to conclude that the military is steering us toward that destination. To the contrary, the military is following U.S. interests into space. At its core, the U.S. military’s job is to protect American interests, no matter where they lie. And today they are increasingly found beyond the earth’s atmosphere. Space already plays a crucial role in the U.S. economy, and America’s dependence on space will only deepen in the coming decades. Whether we recognize it or not, what happens in space affects our very way of life. “More than any other country,” Rumsfeld argues, “the United States relies on space for its security and well-being.” The United States has more than 800 active satellites and probes orbiting the earth at this very moment. Fully a quarter of them have no military purpose at all. Instead, they circle the earth to relay everything from Nike ads to the Nikkei Average; improve the use and development of farmland; guide ships, planes and trucks to their destinations; synchronize financial networks; support police and fire departments; and connect a people and an economy that move at ever-increasing speed. America’s commercial space revenues alone exceed $80 billion. Moreover, the Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency are now in the midst of a massive effort to replace their entire fleet of satellites over the next decade, at a cost of $60 billion. Clearly, the United States has more to gain and much more to lose in space than any other nation on earth. Space is central to the economic and military operations of the world- Every object we put in space pushes the tipping point Shelton 08 (Commander, Air Force Space Command, Assistant Vice Chief of Staff and Director, Air Staff, U.S. Air Force, Pentagon, Bachelor of Science degree in astronautical engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Master of Science degree in astronautical engineering, U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, Master of Science degree in national security strategy, National War College) Lieutenant General William M. Shelton, Senate Armed Services Committee, March 4 2008 http://www.dod.gov/dodgc/olc/docs/testShelton080304.pdf Every significant military operation uses space capabilities in some way — these ubiquitous capabilities are truly integral to military operations in the 21st century. Also, there is a tremendous National economic impact from commercial space systems that provide many crucial services to the American public – services the public relies on and has come to expect. However, it is clear our operating environment is changing. Access to space and space products becomes cheaper and more widely available every year. The commercialization of space has allowed many developing nations and non-state actors to acquire space-based capabilities such as imagery and satellite communications that were previously the exclusive purview of superpowers. With more space players, space is more crowded than ever — we currently track over 18,000 man-made objects, to include everything from active satellites to debris. The potential for a catastrophic collision in space increases as the number of objects increase. 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