A topic presentation for the 2011-2012 policy debate season

The TopicResolved: The United States federal

government should substantially increase its exploration and/or development of

space beyond the Earth’s mesosphere.

Conceptualizing the Topic• One way to look at the debate:

– Leaving the Planet (External)• Technology, Resource, Exploration, & “Salvation” Advantages • Colonization/Frontierism, “Salvation,” and Technology criticisms

– Aiding the Planet (Internal)• Geopolitical, Energy, Economic, Military, & Environmental

Advantages • Militarization and Technology criticisms

– Things that affect both:• Spending/Economic concerns• Politics• Tradeoffs with other programs• Private v. Public sector funding (especially with the end of the US

shuttle program

The Status Quo

• End of the Shuttle Program: 30 year program intended to service space station, deliver and retrieve payloads from space, and perform service missions in orbit

• Obama’s Space Policy: – Utilize commercial and Soyuz rockets for launches

(discussed later)– Develop Heavy Lift Vehicle to lower cost of delivering

payloads to space– Transition Orion capsule from crewed flights to

emergency vehicle for ISS• Imaging: the Hubble, Spitzer, and Webb Space

Telescopes

Leaving the Planet:Externally Focused Affirmatives

Colonization• Most likely candidates for colonization include orbital

colonies, the Moon, Mars, and NEAs (Near Earth Asteroids)

• Less ideal possibilities exist on the poles of Mercury, atmosphere of Venus, main-belt asteroids and other planets’ moons

• Advantages: Human diversification, technological advancement

• Disadvantages: Highly expensive, technology doesn’t currently exist, “salvation” problem devalues Earth-based life

• Requires “bootstrapping,” the development of a sustainable biosphere

In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU): “How do we survive once we’re there?”

• Solar power to propel and sustain space vehicles• Producing Oxygen: The Sabatier Reaction

heat & pressure with nickel catalyst

CO2 + 4H2 → CH4 + 2H2O ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑

Martian Atmosphere Brought Methane Oxygen released by (96% CO2) from Earth (fuel) electrolysis, hydrogen

recycled

• Just add food, shelter, and momma’s love, and you too can survive on Mars!

• Mining: minerals and metals found on planets and asteroids for construction and repair

• National Space Society (NSS): “Returning to the Moon to stay” (LCROSS impacts encourage this conclusion)

Asteroid mining• Asteroids are rich in valuable and useful

metals such as iron, nickel, gold, titanium, platinum, manganese, and other heavy metals

• Many of these are essential to ISRU processes

• Others could eventually be returned to Earth for a profit, although doing so would decrease their value on earth

Terraforming: Planetary Engineering

• Atmospheric engineering proposed by Carl Sagan in the 1961 Science article “The Planet Venus”

• The process of modifying the ecology of a planet or moon to mirror that of Earth, making it suitable for carbon-based life

• Anthropocentric vs. Cosmocentric Ethics: The need to sustain human life vs. the intrinsic value of diverse universal ecosystems

Constellation Program• Former US space policy, cancelled

February 2010, intended to further human spaceflight and solar system exploration

• Goals:– Rockets designed for International Space

Station (ISS) access (competes with private sector initiatives like the SpaceX Dragon capsule)

– Moon and asteroid missions serviced by updated Orion capsule

SETI Cases: They are out there…

• Combined work of private, government, academic, and non-profit research looking for extraterrestrial life

• Primarily radio signal analysis but also optical

• Criticism that research is an inefficient use of resources at best or pseudoscientific and myopic at worst

• Fermi paradox: problem of uneven technologies

Aiding the Planet:Internally Focused Affirmatives

Solar Powered Satellites (SPS or SBSP)

• Photovoltaic Cells in geosynchronous orbit that beam solar energy to a collection dish on earth via laser or microwave

• Not filtered through atmosphere or effected by weather, making collection over 150% more efficient; current PV technology transfers at a rate over 50%; 24 hour collection

• Military use: Is beamed directly to point of use, eliminating supply line concerns

Miniaturized satellites• Small satellites, from 2 to

1,000 pounds, used for communications, data transfer, and large satellite observation

• Greatly reduces cost to build, launch, and maintain satellites

• Lower financial risk allows for frequent updating and increased experimentation

Star Wars: Military Satellites• Military use of satellites

date to early days of space exploration with the CORONA program

• Pentagon looking to cut its $26 billion budget on space projects

• Despite publicly opposing military-use satellites, China is reportedly developing a reconnaissance and guidance satellite that would allow it to project power beyond the mainland

Space Elevator• An effort to solve the

massive cost of lifting payloads into space

• Technological Constraints: – Must be over 24,000 miles high

in order to reach geosynchronicity

– Cable must be strong enough to support itself and payloads

– Must protect travelers from radiation

Solar Storm Warning Systems

• Solar flares can disrupt and damage Earthly electronics and communications

• NASA currently operates a Solar Dynamics Observatory SDO to track solar changes before, during, and after eruptions

• Additional analysis of magnetic data needed to understand solar storms and prevent damage to electronic systems

NEOs: Near Earth Objects

• NEOs are classified as 1.3 AU (Astronomical Units) or closer to the Earth

• NASA recommended in July 2010 to establish an Asteroid Defense Office to track, characterize, and prevent Earth-asteroid impact

• Private initiatives in the lead

Outer Space Treaty: Who owns space?

• Entered into force in 1967• Governs state and non-state

actors• Prohibits WMDs and claiming

sovereignty over celestial bodies

• Currently no similar treaty regarding the moon or banning all weapons (Space Preservation Treaty)

Keeping House: Space Junk Cleanup

• Over 500,000 pieces of “space junk” in orbit at speeds of over 15,000 mph

• Threaten satellites, travel, and ISS• Numerous ideas: lasers, magnets, nets,

fines for polluters• What’s the harm, really?

– Closing velocities are what’s important, not velocity relative to earth

– Space is much bigger than we give it credit for (volume, not surface area)

Arguments Common to All Case Areas

Cost: That’ll be $10,000, please!

• Cost to develop, build, and operate one space station: $100 billion (about 0.7% of US GDP)

• “Substantial” increases could carry a much larger price tag.

• NASA’s entire budget currently around $19 billion

Tradeoffs

• NASA’s commercial airline projects, contracted with Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grummon, are slated for development in 2025

• NASA currently fighting to save Webb telescope from being cut

• International projects: Soyuz, ISS support, heavy lift vehicles

Privatization & Internationalization

• The ISS is a good example of an internationally funded R&D and implementation effort

• Companies like Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, and Ad Astra Rocket Company are developing launch and propulsion capabilities to replace the US Shuttle

• Private sector and international spending could avoid political and economic impacts of US government funding

Questions? Comments? Frustrations?

Presentation available online at http://minnesotaurbandebateleague.wikispaces.com/Curriculum