Space Debris Affirmative


Advantage 1: Satellites (2/7)



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Advantage 1: Satellites (2/7)


Threats of collisions between space debris and satellites occurring now, empirically proven to destroy satellites and data gathering missions.

Butt and Black 10 (Samuel Black is a research associate at the Henry L. Stimson Center. Previously, he was a research assistant at the Center for Defense Information. He holds undergraduate degrees in government and politics and a graduate degree in public policy from the University of Maryland. Yousaf Butt is a staff scientist in the High-Energy Astrophysics Division at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and is currently on leave at the National Academy of Sciences. Previously, he worked on NASA’s orbiting Chandra X-Ray Observatory Project and served as a research fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Global Security Program. He holds a PhD in experimental nuclear astrophysic, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist, The Growing threat of Space Debris, April 2010; http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5c1f1056-b59b-445d-a5ae-027b5c3b4aa4%40sessionmgr14&vid=18&hid=14, rn)

It is estimated that a collision between an active satellite and a piece of dangerous debris (larger than 1 centimeter) will occur on average once every two to three years over the next decade.15 NASA contends that existing satellite debris shields can protect against impacts with such dangerous debris. Even if true, there are more than 300,000 pieces of debris larger than 1 centimeter in low Earth orbit, and fewer than 20,000 of them are tracked regularly by the United States.16 Aside from posing a risk to satellites, debris threatens better-protected manned spacecraft as well. On March 12, 2009, the crew of the International Space Station was forced to evacuate to a docked Soyuz spacecraft in response to a debris fragment’s predicted close approach. Another piece of debris threatened the station four days later. Then, on March 22, the space station and the docked space shuttle were forced to change orbit to avoid an approaching Chinese rocket-booster fragment.17 Although both manned and unmanned spacecraft can be maneuvered to avoid potential collisions if enough warning is provided, such maneuvers use limited fuel, which can shorten the operational lifetime of the spacecraft, and disrupt data and other satellite services. (In some cases it can take many hours to plan and execute such a maneuver; for the International Space Station, for example, it takes approximately 30 hours.)18 Furthermore, because there is very little atmospheric drag at the high altitudes associated with low Earth orbit, debris can remain there for decades.19 Independent studies predict that roughly one quarter of the debris larger than 10 centimeters created in the Iridium collision will remain in orbit for more than 30 years. Roughly 15 percent of 1–10 centimeter debris is expected to remain in orbit even longer.20



Space debris increases satellite collisions and decreases access to space.

Clark- 10 (Stuart Clark is an astronomy journalist and holds a first class honours degree and a PhD in astrophysics. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a former Vice Chair of the Association of British Science Writers. He writes for the Space Agency as senior editor for space science. In addition, he writes articles and news for New Scientist, The Times, BBC Focus and BBC Sky at Night and is a former editor of Astronomy Now magazine. Stuart was the Director of Public Astronomy Education at the University of Hertfordshire., New Scientist, Who you gonna call? Junk busters! 9/11/2010; http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=14&sid=7ac5f409-0ed2-4624-9745d27b1812ca59%40sessionmgr12&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=58665244, rn)

We'll soon be cut off from space if we don't deal with the debris in orbit, warns Stuart Clark EARTH'S rings have never looked so beautiful, you think as you look up at the pallid sliver of light arcing through the night sky. Yet unlike Saturn's magnificent bands of dust and rubble, Earth's halo is one of our own making. It is nothing but space junk, smashed-up debris from thousands of satellites that once monitored our climate, beamed down TV programmes and helped us find our way around. This scenario is every space engineer's nightmare. It is known as the Kessler syndrome after Donald Kessler, formerly at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Back in 1978, he and colleague Burton Cour-Palais proposed that as the number of satellites rose, so would the risk of accidental collisions. Such disasters would create large clouds of shrapnel, making further collisions with other satellites more likely and sparking a chain reaction that would swiftly surround the Earth with belts of debris. Orbits would become so clogged as to be unusable and eventually our access to space would be completely blocked.

Advantage 1: Satellites (3/7)



Space debris wipe out satellites, threatening national security and increasing spending.

Imburgia 2011(Joseph S., author in Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law; “Space Debris and Its Threat to National Security: A Proposal for a Binding International Agreement to Clean Up the Junk.” May 2011 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=6e7410a9-26b2-454c-a808-c656e99bad12%40sessionmgr15&vid=2&hid=15&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d SH)

Because so much of the United States’ security depends on satellites, these integral space-based capabilities would, therefore, be costly to lose. That loss would be felt in more than just the security arena. Due to the steep price tags attached to some of the national space security platforms, the economic loss of a satellite due to space debris would also be significant. For example, a pair of new Global Positioning Satellites (GPS), which provides valuable targeting and battle space awareness to military commanders, costs $1.5 billion.166 Accordingly, if a piece of space debris destroys one of these satellites, $750 million could be lost instantly. Additionally, NASA invests billions of dollars annually in space assets. Congress provided NASA with $18.3 billion to spend on space utilization and exploration for fiscal year 2010, and it provided $17.7 billion for fiscal year 2011.167 Air Force General (retired) Ronald E. Keys, former Commander of Air Combat Command, summed it up best, stating that a great deal “rides on space-borne satellites.”168 Because these space capabilities are so costly yet so vital to the United States’ national security and economic well-being, the preservation of these space capabilities should also be vital.


Space debris threatens satellite efficiency, increasing tensions and reducing domestic security.

Butt and Black 10 (Samuel Black is a research associate at the Henry L. Stimson Center. Previously, he was a research assistant at the Center for Defense Information. He holds undergraduate degrees in government and politics and a graduate degree in public policy from the University of Maryland. Yousaf Butt is a staff scientist in the High-Energy Astrophysics Division at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and is currently on leave at the National Academy of Sciences. Previously, he worked on NASA’s orbiting Chandra X-Ray Observatory Project and served as a research fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Global Security Program. He holds a PhD in experimental nuclear astrophysic, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist, The Growing threat of Space Debris, April 2010; http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5c1f1056-b59b-445d-a5ae-027b5c3b4aa4%40sessionmgr14&vid=18&hid=14, rn)

The united states is heavily reliant upon satellites. These satellites save lives, strengthen the economy, and provide invaluable support to the military and intelligence services. To wit, there are approximately 300,000 emergency GPS receivers used in the United States to aid search and- rescue teams, and the space industry supports about 729,000 U.S. jobs.1 During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, precision-guided munitions, most guided by GPS-based satellite navigation, made up two thirds of all the bombs used.2 Yet satellites are also highly vulnerable. The space environment is a harsh vacuum that is constantly swept by solar storms, naturally occurring micrometeoroids, and a hail of fast-moving space debris. Most satellites travel at speeds ranging from 3.1 kilometers per second to 7.8 kilometers per second—many times faster than a bullet.3 When satellites and space debris collide at such speeds, the results can be catastrophic. In peacetime, the consequences include damage or destruction worth many millions of dollars and a gap in satellite services. If a collision occurs during a crisis, it could be difficult to tell whether it was an accident or a purposeful act, which might exacerbate tensions or spark an armed conflict. Space debris also could damage communications and intelligence-gathering satellites when they are needed most.



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