Landsats Aff

Science Leadership - Solvency

Even more difficult to quantify than information—but readily apparent—is the value of U.S. technical and scientific leadership in land imaging and its benefits to society. Well before global climate change science was recognized as a distinct area of inquiry, Landsat enabled the U.S. to demonstrate international leadership in globalscale Earth-systems science.23 When climate change research first began to appear in the 1980s, it was moderate-resolution land imagery that was used for calibration and “ground-truthing” of data to ensure that climate model research had a foundation in fact, not just theory. Today, Landsat is the only moderate-resolution satellite monitoring system capable of acquiring seasonal global land surface data that are useful for assessing worldwide land surface and land use changes. The Landsat 7 Long-Term Acquisition Plan (LTAP), the method used to identify the data collection plan for Landsat, was the world’s first successful automated global targeting plan for land imaging that observes every land surface area of the Earth multiple times per year. Also, this type of automated land observing strategy not only saved money by more frequently targeting those land surfaces that experienced frequent changes, but it ensured that information about land surface changes would be available for sophisticated techniques in climate and Earth modeling.24 Once again, the societal benefit of cost savings in research and model advancement cannot be quantified in dollars, but exemplifies how Landsat has provided many indirect benefits to society. Likewise, many years in advance of the world’s recognition of the importance of having a Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS), the Landsat program established the most extensive international ground-station cooperator network in the world. Today, the Landsat network includes 15 ground stations that are managed through agreements with 11 national and multi-national space agencies. Despite the advanced age of Landsat 5, over 13,500 scenes are still being downloaded from it annually by international partners.25 The economic value to the U.S. in goodwill, trade exports, contributions to peace, economic development, and security in the world is a “societal benefit” that cannot be quantified in dollars. However, Landsat exemplifies the legacy of the best of U.S. contributions of space technology to the world’s benefit by providing leadership for solving Earth resource problems, consistent with the original premise of the 1958 Space Act.

Hegemony - Solvency

LandSats maximizes space potential—that’s key to heg
US Army 10 (6/9, http://www.army.mil/aps/97/CH5.HTM, accessed 7-3-11, CH)

As we enter the 21st century, the Army will continue to use space products. Space systems provide communications; weather and earth resource monitoring; reconnaissance, surveillance, and tar

get acquisition; position, navigation, and digital mapping; missile defense warning. As we look to the next century, space products will help us turn a smaller Army into an even more effective national security asset. The Army uses space products in virtually every operation. During Desert Shield, early operations were directly supported by graphical maps produced using LandSat imagery. During Desert Storm, satellite communications and navigation provided the land component commander a viable means of controlling the rapid movement of widely dispersed formations. The commander used real time weather data from polar orbiting satellites to anticipate weather effects. During UPHOLD DEMOCRACY in Haiti, space products provided deployed forces with critical video teleconferencing connectivity, near real-time intelligence reports, and high resolution maps. Space - a force multiplier - is key to future warfighting missions. Space systems enhance operations by providing timely situational awareness. The Army will continue to organize and train forces using space capabilities that make forces more responsive, flexible, interoperable, and survivable. By aggressively exploiting space products, the Army will maintain land force dominance in the 21st century.
Reconnaissance satellites key to space leadership—solves hegemony
DoD, no date (http://www.dod.gov/execsec/adr97/chap19.html, accessed, 7-4-11, CH)

The United States conducts activities in outer space to defend the nation. Space is a medium -- like the land, sea, and air -- within which military operations take place by Department of Defense space forces. These forces consist of both space-based and terrestrial systems, plus their associated facilities and personnel. During the past decade, national security space systems have played an increasingly important role in the Department's overall warfighting capability. Consistent with the National Space Policy, Department of Defense space forces will continue to support military operations worldwide, monitor and respond to strategic military threats, and monitor arms control and nonproliferation agreements and activities. DoD will exploit and, if required, control space to assist in the successful execution of the National Security Strategy and National Military Strategy. In the future, space power will be as important as sea power and air power are today. The control and utilization of space as a warfighting medium will help to enable the United States to establish and sustain dominance over an area of military operations. Establishing such dominance will be a key to achieving success during a crisis or conflict.

Landsat capabilities key to hegemony
DoD, no date (http://www.dod.gov/execsec/adr97/chap19.html, accessed, 7-4-11, CH)

The United States is the unparalleled world leader in the use of space for defense and intelligence purposes. U.S. space forces, especially the constellations of reconnaissance, surveillance, communications, navigation, and weather satellites, have contributed significantly both to U.S. successes during the Cold War and in military operations around the globe since then. Utilization of these space systems has evolved from an initial focus on providing support to national decision makers and strategic nuclear operations to a more extensive integration into the overall military force structure and much broader use by warfighters. Currently, U.S. national security space assets are playing a crucial role in supporting national security objectives in many areas around the globe, including the former Republic of Yugoslavia, Korea, and the Middle East. Space systems have become an integral part of the overall deterrent posture of the U.S. armed forces. They help confer a decisive advantage upon U.S. and friendly forces in terms of combat timing, battlespace awareness, operating tempo, synchronization, maneuverability, and the application of firepower. Any nation contemplating an action inimical to U.S. national security interests must be concerned about U.S. space capabilities because they help to ensure that hostile actions will be discovered by the United States in a timely manner

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