Space Debris Affirmative
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Advantage 7: ISS Add-OnThe amount of space debris is growing, and is a concern for the International Space Station. The Daily Yomiuri, 2009 (The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japans leading English Newspaper, Tokyo, Space debris measures must be bolstered, February 9, 2009, LEXIS, http://www.lexisnexis.com/lnacui2api/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T12261605648&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T12261605651&cisb=22_T12261605650&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=145202&docNo=1, SP) The likelihood of our planet becoming completely surrounded by space debris is a matter of increasing concern. The collision of a U.S. satellite weighing about half a ton with an unused Russian satellite about twice that weight, about 800 kilometers above the Earth's surface, reportedly produced a huge amount of debris. Surely the collision could have been avoided if their orbits had been changed. Since the world's first satellite was launched in 1957, thousands of satellite launches have taken place, meaning there are a large number of objects drifting around the Earth. Among the space debris in orbit around our planet are satellites that are no longer functioning, either because they have outlived their usefulness or have malfunctioned. Space debris also includes rocket booster parts, the remains of collisions among space vehicles and equipment dropped by astronauts. It is estimated that there are between 30 million and 40 million items of space debris currently adrift, weighing a total of several thousand tons. In 2007, China's destruction of one of its weather satellites in an experiment produced a huge amount of debris. If nothing is done to address the problem, mankind faces serious problems in its use of space as space debris has massive destructive potential. Such debris can travel at speeds of around five kilometers per second, while the energy generated from a collision of debris even just one centimeter across can be equivalent to that of a car crash on a highway. The smashing of space debris into a satellite is clearly disastrous. An international problem Previously, a French satellite was seriously damaged after colliding with space debris. In the United States, a rocket launch was postponed to prevent a collision with space debris. What is of particular concern this time is the threat to the International Space Station, which has been under construction with the participation of Japan and other nations. The ISS orbits about 400 kilometers beneath where the latest collision took place, and it is unlikely that debris will hit the ISS. But it is still possible that debris could pass over the ISS. An extended stay at the ISS by Koichi Wakata, the first of its kind for a Japanese astronaut, is expected to begin soon, and it is of some concern that the space shuttle flying to the ISS could be affected by the debris. The ISS is equipped with protective walls designed to absorb shocks from small debris and the station would alter its orbit to avoid large pieces of debris, which are tracked by radar from the ground by the U.S. military when a shuttle is to be launched. Breaking the cycle But if the amount of debris continues to increase, it will become more difficult to take all possible preventive measures. Greater precautions must therefore be taken to try and prevent trouble that could affect the ISS. A further concern is the apparent vicious circle of increased space debris from collisions, which in turn creates more potential for destruction, as can be seen in the latest collision. The growing amount of debris means the probability of a collision between a satellite and space debris is likely to increase rapidly in about a decade or so. International guidelines state that large satellites should be brought back to Earth. But is this enough? Is there no way that space debris can be collected? Japan needs to call on other nations that have space development programs to address the issue and play a more active role in strengthening measures to tackle the problem Advantage 7: ISS Add-OnSpace debris threatens the International Space Station now-casualties turn public opinions against spaceflight. David 10 (Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society's Ad Astra and Space World magazines and has written for SPACE.com since 1999., Space.com, Space Junk Mess Getting Messier in Orbit, http://www.space.com/7956-space-junk-mess-messier-orbit.html, 2/23/10, rn) Significant progress has been made by the U.S. and the international aerospace communities in recognizing the hazards of orbital debris, reported Nicholas Johnson, chief scientist for orbital debris at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Johnson added that steps are being taken to reduce or eliminate the potential for the creation of new debris. However, "the future environment is expected to worsen without additional corrective measures," he noted. During 2009, Johnson reported, five different NASA robotic spacecraft carried out collision avoidance maneuvers: a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-3), Cloudsat, Earth Observing Mission 1, Aqua, and Landsat 7. Also, the space shuttle and the International Space Station took collision avoidance actions, he said. The worst thing that could happen, according to ESA's Klinkrad, is the International Space Station (ISS) receiving a fatal hit. The space station is currently home to five astronauts representing the U.S., Russia and Japan. "A penetrating object hitting the ISS, and possibly causing a casualty onboard . . . I think that would be the most dramatic case we could have," Klinkrad suggested. Such an incident might turn public opinion against human spaceflight, he said. U.S has created enough debris through exploding satellites creating a threat to the space station 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) The United States’ contributions to the current space debris environment have also been noteworthy. In addition to the February 2009 satellite collision and the November 2008 loss of $100,000 worth of tools during a space walk,115 the United States temporarily, but intentionally, added to the space debris problem when it shot down an aging spy satellite.116 On February 14, 2008, the United States launched an Aegis-LEAP SM-3 interceptor missile from the USS Lake Erie to destroy the USA-193 spy satellite’s toxic hydrazine fuel propellant tank, which officials said could be hazardous if it crashed back to Earth.117 To prevent that from happening, the United States destroyed the satellite in LEO, just before it fell out of orbit.118 Some experts worried that “the impact would blast [more] debris into orbit around Earth, threatening the space station” and other space-based systems.119 However, the Pentagon and NASA planned for the created space debris to quickly disintegrate in Earth’s atmosphere.. 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