Seti aff •seti neg •Asteroids Aff
Download 2.75 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Impact Turn – Leadership
- Impact Turn – Space Debris
Impact Turn – Leadership[____] [____] Privatization will undermine leadership because it will have no clear goal to implement. David Wu, Democratic Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon, 4/15/2010, “Debate: Obama's Space Privatization Plan Is a Costly Mistake,” http://www.aolnews.com/2010/04/15/debate-obamas-space-privatization-plan-is-a-costly-mistake/ President Barack Obama is in Florida today to argue his case for privatizing the human spaceflight program. It will be a tough sell. The president's vision for privatizing American space exploration may sound appealing initially, but it rests on flawed assumptions and could result in the United States surrendering our lead in space exploration to our international competitors, including China and Russia. The president has proposed a radical restructuring of U.S. space policy, which includes the termination of the next phase of the human spaceflight program, known as the Constellation program. The Constellation program is the architecture developed to deliver American astronauts to the International Space Station -- and later to the moon and other destinations in our solar system -- following the retirement of the space shuttle program, which is on pace to fly its last mission late this year or early next year. In place of Constellation, the Obama administration supports the development of commercial capabilities for delivering Americans to the space station and beyond. This may sound good rhetorically, but it fails to meet the standards of sound space policy. The president's plan to privatize space exploration rests on ill-defined objectives and unsubstantiated assumptions. For instance, the administration has not adequately explained where the space program's shifted trajectory will lead our nation and cannot explain how its plan affects our nation's previously established goals of returning humans to the moon by 2020 and some day sending astronauts to Mars and beyond. Without clearly defined goals, including specific destinations and timelines for reaching them, how can we ensure that taxpayers are receiving an adequate return on their investments in space exploration? It is simply unwise to carry out such a dramatic shift in how our nation conducts space exploration without a clear objective in mind [____] Privatization will mean that space ceases to inspire leadership by the US. David Wu, Democratic Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon, 4/15/2010, “Debate: Obama's Space Privatization Plan Is a Costly Mistake,” http://www.aolnews.com/2010/04/15/debate-obamas-space-privatization-plan-is-a-costly-mistake/ The Constellation program is not perfect. But putting all of our eggs in a private-sector basket is simply too risky a gamble. If the president's plan is implemented, we would be jeopardizing our nation's lead in space exploration, and we would be jeopardizing our children's future. The space program encourages us to reach for the stars in both our dreams and our actions. It helps drive innovation, and it challenges us to find creative solutions to technological challenges. Moreover, it inspires America's next generation of scientists and engineers to pursue their passions -- something we must have if our nation is to compete in the 21st century global economy. The president's plan to privatize our spaceflight program will hinder our nation's ability to remain at the forefront of human achievement for generations to come. We must reconsider. Impact Turn – Leadership[____] [____] US leadership prevents nuclear war. Zalmay Khalilzad, Defense Analyst at RAND, 1995 “Losing the Moment? The United States and the World After the Cold War” The Washington Quarterly, RETHINKING GRAND STRATEGY; Vol. 18, No. 2; Pg. 84 Under the third option, the United States would seek to retain global leadership and to preclude the rise of a global rival or a return to multipolarity for the indefinite future. On balance, this is the best long-term guiding principle and vision. Such a vision is desirable not as an end in itself, but because a world in which the United States exercises leadership would have tremendous advantages. First, the global environment would be more open and more receptive to American values -- democracy, free markets, and the rule of law. Second, such a world would have a better chance of dealing cooperatively with the world's major problems, such as nuclear proliferation, threats of regional hegemony by renegade states, and low-level conflicts. Finally, U.S. leadership would help preclude the rise of another hostile global rival, enabling the United States and the world to avoid another global cold or hot war and all the attendant dangers, including a global nuclear exchange. U.S. leadership would therefore be more conducive to global stability than a bipolar or a multipolar balance of power system. Impact Turn – Space Debris[____] [____] The privatization of space will cause increased space debris to the point where space can no longer be used. Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, 6/23/2003, “Space Privatization: A road to conflict?” http://www.space4peace.org/articles/road_to_conflict.htm The news brings us the story of "space pioneers" launching privately funded craft into the heavens. A special prize is offered to the first private aerospace corporation who can successfully take a pilot and a "space tourist" into orbit. Is this "privatization" of space a good thing? Is there any reason to be concerned about the trend? Are there any serious questions that should be raised at this historic moment? Three major issues come immediately to mind concerning space privatization. Space as an environment, space law, and profit in space. We've all probably heard about the growing problem of space junk where over 100,000 bits of debris are now tracked on the radar screens at NORAD in Colorado as they orbit the earth at 18,000 m.p.h. Several space shuttles have been nicked by bits of debris in the past resulting in cracked windshields. The International Space Station (ISS) recently was moved to a higher orbit because space junk was coming dangerously close. Some space writers have predicted that the ISS will one day be destroyed by debris. As we see a flurry of launches by private space corporations the chances of accidents, and thus more debris, becomes a serious reality to consider. Very soon we will reach the point of no return, where space pollution will be so great that an orbiting minefield will have been created that hinders all access to space. The time as certainly come for a global discussion about how we treat the sensitive environment called space before it is too late.
Megan Ansdell, Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton for Space Policy, Former Graduate Student Intern at NASA, 2010 “Active Space Debris Removal: Needs, Implications, and Recommendations for Today’s Geopolitical Environment,” www.princeton.edu/jpia/past-issues-1/2010/Space-Debris-Removal.pdf There are currently hundreds of millions of space debris fragments orbiting the Earth at speeds of up to several kilometers per second. Although the majority of these fragments result from the space activities of only three countries—China, Russia, and the United States—the indiscriminate nature of orbital mechanics means that they pose a continuous threat to all assets in Earth’s orbit. There are now roughly 300,000 pieces of space debris large enough to completely destroy operating satellites upon impact (Wright 2007, 36; Johnson 2009a, 1). It is likely that space debris will become a significant problem within the next several decades. Predictive studies show that if humans do not take action to control the space debris population, an increasing number of unintentional collisions between orbiting objects will lead to the runaway growth of space debris in Earth’s orbit (Liou and Johnson 2006). This uncontrolled growth of space debris threatens the ability of satellites to deliver the services humanity has come to rely on in its day-to-day activities. For example, Global Positioning System (GPS) precision timing and navigation signals are a significant component of the modern global economy; a GPS failure could disrupt emergency response services, cripple global banking systems, and interrupt electric power grids (Logsdon 2001). Space Weaponization Disadvantage Directory: wp-content -> uploads -> 2011 2011 -> Voices of the Old Sea Norman Lewis 2011 -> Malevil Robert Merle 2011 -> The Elephant Keeper’s Children Peter Hoeg 2011 -> Jv packet •Mars Colonization Affirmative •Mars Colonization Negative 2011 -> Registration Form (Rev. 8-86) omb no. 1024-0018 2011 -> All America Looks Up to Virginia;” Virginia and the Declaration of Independence 2011 -> Rao bulletin 2011 -> Christopher Columbus was born between 25 August and 31 October 1451 in 2011 -> The Battle of Frenchtown (1855), Washington Territory: the Political and Demographic Context rev 9/4/11 2011 -> The harmony society Download 2.75 Mb. Share with your friends:
|