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Space Militarization Disadvantage – Level 2
SPACE MILITARIZATION DISADVANTAGE – LEVEL 2 ................................................................................1
SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................................................2
GLOSSARY .................................................................................................................................................................3
1NC SHELL [1/2] ........................................................................................................................................................4
1NC SHELL [2/2] ........................................................................................................................................................5
UNIQUENESS .............................................................................................................................................................6
LINKS – GENERIC ....................................................................................................................................................7
LINKS – DEVELOPMENT........................................................................................................................................8
LINKS – LUNAR DEVELOPMENT [1/2] ................................................................................................................9
LINKS – LUNAR DEVELOPMENT [2/2] .............................................................................................................. 10
LINK – HEAVY LIFT/CONSTELLATION PROJECT ....................................................................................... 11
LINKS – SPS [1/2] ..................................................................................................................................................... 12
LINKS – SPS [2/2] ..................................................................................................................................................... 13
IMPACT – ACCIDENTAL NUCLEAR WAR/ESCALATION ............................................................................ 14
IMPACT – ACCIDENTAL NUCLEAR WAR/ESCALATION [2/2] ................................................................... 15
WEAPONIZATION BAD – DEBT [1/2] ................................................................................................................. 16
WEAPONIZATION BAD – DEBT [2/2] ................................................................................................................. 17
ANSWERS TO: “SPACE MILITARIZATION IS KEY TO HEGEMONY” ..................................................... 18
AFFIRMATIVE......................................................................................................................................................... 19
NON-UNIQUE – SPACE MIL NOW ...................................................................................................................... 20
ANSWERS TO: MISCALCULATION IMPACT .................................................................................................. 21
SPACE WEAPONIZATION GOOD-HEGEMONY ............................................................................................. 22
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Summary
The space militarization disadvantage argues that, if we explore space or build new space
technology (like solar powered satellites), we will use the knowledge and technology we
develop in the process to build space weapons. These weapons can start wars easily
because, as the impact evidence argues, space wars are highly complicated and fast (even
faster than land wars). Since the speed and technology are greater, space wars are more
likely to start and escalate by accident, putting the whole world in danger.
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Glossary
Dual-Use – Dual-use technology refers to technology that can be used for more than one thing.
In this case, dual use technology refers to space technology that can be used for peaceful
purposes and for military ones. For example, SPS can be used to power things likecars but also
to power space weapons.
Escalation – When a war between two countries starts to involve other countries and/or involve
bigger, more powerful weapons.
Hegemony – When one country’s influence and military make them the dominant or most
important power in the world.
Militarization – When something becomes useful for military purposes. Weaponization is the
offensive use of a militarized space.
Miscalculation – In this case, miscalculation refers to when two countries guess what the other
country is up to but they guess incorrectly. This is very dangerous because, if one country
guesses that another country intends to attack them when really the other country does not intend
to attack them, they could start a war by accident.
Weaponization – When something becomes useful as a weapon or as a place for weapons to be
used. If space is militarized, that means that space will become a place where countries put
weapons and potentially fight one another.
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1NC Shell [1/2]
A. Uniqueness-no space militarization now
Lake, 11 (Eli, Washington Times, “ U.S., EU eye anti-satellite weapons pact”, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/27/us-eueye-anti-satellite-weapons-pact/)
The Obama administration is negotiating with the European Union on an agreement limiting the use of
anti-satellite weapons, a move that some critics say could curb U.S. development of space weapons in
general. Three congressional staffers told The Washington Times that Pentagon and intelligence analysts said in a
briefing Monday that the administration is looking to sign on to the European Union’s Code of Conduct for
Outer Space Activities. The briefing followed the completion of an interagency review that recommends the
United States sign on to the document with only a few minor changes to its language, according to two
administration officials familiar with the review. That recommendation is awaiting final approval from the
National Security Council. “The United States is continuing to consult with the European Union on its
initiative to develop a comprehensive set of multilateral TCBMs, also known as the Code of Conduct for Outer
Space Activities,” Rose Gottemoeller, assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification and compliance,
said Thursday at the U.N. Conference on Disarmament. TCBM stands for “transparency and confidencebuilding measures.”
B. Link -- Space exploration leads to militarization
Raymond D. Duvall, and Jonathan Havercroft , University of Minnesota & University of Victoria, March 22-25,2006 (“Taking
Sovereignty Out of This World: Space Weaponization and the Production of Late-Modern Political Subjects,” International Studies Association.
http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/9/8/6/8/pages98680/p98680-1.php ).
The weaponization of space—the act of placing weapons in outer space—has an intimate relationship to space
exploration, in that the history of the former is embedded in the latter, while the impetus for space exploration,
in turn, is embedded in histories of military development. Since the launch of Sputnik, states that have ability
to access— and hence to explore—outer space have sought ways in which that access could improve their military
capabilities. Consequently, militaries in general and the U.S. military in particular have had a strong interest
in the military uses of space for the last half century. Early on, the military interest in space had two direct
expressions: enhancing surveillance; and developing rocketry technologies that could be put to use for
earthbased weapons, such as missiles. Militaries also have a vested interest in the “dual-use” technologies
that are often developed in space exploration missions. While NASA goes to great lengths in its public
relations to stress the benefits to science and the (American) public of its space explorations, it is noteworthy
that many of the technologies developed for those missions also have potential military use.
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1NC Shell [2/2]
C. Impact -- Weaponization causes war and it results in extinction
Mitchell, 01 – Associate Professor of Communication and Director of Debate at the University of Pittsburgh
(Dr. Gordon, ISIS Briefing on Ballistic Missile Defence, “Missile Defence: Trans-Atlantic Diplomacy at a Crossroads”, No. 6 July,
http://www.isisuk.demon.co.uk/0811/isis/uk/bmd/no6.html)
A buildup of space weapons might begin with noble intentions of 'peace through strength' deterrence, but
this rationale glosses over the tendency that '… the presence of space weapons…will result in the increased
likelihood of their use'.33 This drift toward usage is strengthened by a strategic fact elucidated by Frank Barnaby:
when it comes to arming the heavens, 'anti-ballistic missiles and anti-satellite warfare technologies go hand-inhand'.34 The interlocking nature of offense and defense in military space technology stems from the
inherent 'dual capability' of spaceborne weapon components. As Marc Vidricaire, Delegation of Canada to the
UN Conference on Disarmament, explains: 'If you want to intercept something in space, you could use the same
capability to target something on land'. 35 To the extent that ballistic missile interceptors based in space can knock
out enemy missiles in mid-flight, such interceptors can also be used as orbiting 'Death Stars', capable of
sending munitions hurtling through the Earth's atmosphere. The dizzying speed of space warfare would
introduce intense 'use or lose' pressure into strategic calculations, with the spectre of split-second attacks
creating incentives to rig orbiting Death Stars with automated 'hair trigger' devices. In theory, this
automation would enhance survivability of vulnerable space weapon platforms. However, by taking the decision
to commit violence out of human hands and endowing computers with authority to make war, military
planners could sow insidious seeds of accidental conflict. Yale sociologist Charles Perrow has analyzed
'complexly interactive, tightly coupled' industrial systems such as space weapons, which have many sophisticated
components that all depend on each other's flawless performance. According to Perrow, this interlocking
complexity makes it impossible to foresee all the different ways such systems could fail. As Perrow explains, '[t]he
odd term "normal accident" is meant to signal that, given the system characteristics, multiple and unexpected
interactions of failures are inevitable'.36 Deployment of space weapons with pre-delegated authority to fire
death rays or unleash killer projectiles would likely make war itself inevitable, given the susceptibility of
such systems to 'normal accidents'. It is chilling to contemplate the possible effects of a space war. According to
retired Lt. Col. Robert M. Bowman, 'even a tiny projectile reentering from space strikes the earth with such
high velocity that it can do enormous damage — even more than would be done by a nuclear weapon of the
same size!'. 37 In the same Star Wars technology touted as a quintessential tool of peace, defence analyst David
Langford sees one of the most destabilizing offensive weapons ever conceived: 'One imagines dead cities of
microwave-grilled people'.38 Given this unique potential for destruction, it is not hard to imagine that any nation
subjected to space weapon attack would retaliate with maximum force, including use of nuclear, biological,
and/or chemical weapons. An accidental war sparked by a computer glitch in space could plunge the world
into the most destructive military conflict ever seen.
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Uniqueness
Obama not pursuing space weaponization
New York Times, 10 (William Broad and Kenneth Chang, “ Obama Reverses Bush’s Space Policy”,
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/science/space/29orbit.html)
The Obama administration on Monday unveiled a space policy that renounces the unilateral stance of the
Bush administration and instead emphasizes international cooperation, including the possibility of an arms
control treaty that would limit the development of space weapons. In recent years, both China and the
United States have destroyed satellites in orbit, raising fears about the start of a costly arms race that might
ultimately hurt the United States because it dominates the military use of space. China smashed a satellite in
January 2007, and the United States did so in February 2008. The new space policy explicitly says that
Washington will “consider proposals and concepts for arms control measures if they are equitable, effectively
verifiable and enhance the national security of the United States and its allies.” The Bush administration, in the
space policy it released in August 2006, said it “rejects any limitations on the fundamental right of the United
States to operate in and acquire data from space,” a phrase that was interpreted as giving a green light to the
development and use of antisatellite weapons. The policy also stated that Washington would “oppose the
development of new legal regimes or other restrictions that seek to prohibit or limit U.S. access or use of space,” a
phrase that effectively ruled out arms control. In secret, the Bush administration engaged in research that critics
said could produce a powerful ground-based laser, among other potential weapons meant to shatter enemy
satellites in orbit. By contrast, the Obama policy underlines the need for international cooperation. “It is the
shared interest of all nations to act responsibly in space to help prevent mishaps, misperceptions and
mistrust,” the new policy says in its opening lines. “Space operations should be conducted in ways that
emphasize openness and transparency.” Peter Marquez, director of space policy at the White House National
Security Council, told reporters on Monday that the policy was reverting to a less confrontational approach that
the United States had championed in the past. “The arms control language is bipartisan language that appeared
in the Reagan policy and George H. W. Bush’s policy and the Clinton policy,” Mr. Marquez said in a White House
briefing. “So we’re bringing it back to a bipartisan agreed-upon position.” Jeff Abramson, a senior analyst at the
Arms Control Association, a private group in Washington, said the new policy “sets the stage for progress in space
arms control — without getting into specifics.” For many years, diplomats from around the globe have
gathered in Geneva to hammer out a treaty on the “prevention of an arms race in outer space,” which
would ban space weapons. Arms control supporters say that China and Russia have backed the process,
and that the United States during the Bush administration dragged its feet. In 2006, John Mohanco, a State
Department official, told the diplomats in Geneva that as long as attacks on satellites remained a threat, “our
government will continue to consider the possible role that space-related weapons may play in protecting our
assets.” Now, the Obama administration has stopped the saber-rattling and started what might end in a new
kind of peaceful accord — though with plenty of caveats and vague conditions.
No weaponization now
RIA 2010 (MOSCOW, April 9 (RIA Novosti, “Russia has no plans to deploy weapons in space - top brass” accessed 7/11/10
Russia has no
plans to deploy weapons in space - top brass aes)
The commander of Russia's space forces said on Friday Russia had no plans to deploy weapons of any kind in
space. Some analysts have suggested that Russia could deploy space weapons as part of measures to counter
controversial U.S. plans to build missile shields in Europe. "We have no such plans," Maj. Gen. Oleg
Ostapenko told a news conference in Moscow a day after Russia and the United States signed a new START
treaty, which significantly cuts the nuclear arsenals of both countries and for the first time recognizes the
interrelationship between strategic offensive arms and strategic defensive arms. Ostapenko said that the signing of
the new treaty would not affect the activities and plans of the Russian Space Forces. "The plans and tasks
set by the commander-in-chief [the president] have not changed and are being developed at a determined
pace," the general said. He added that changes would only be made if "breakthrough technologies emerge that
affect the plans and budgets." As of 2009, there are no known operative orbital weapons systems, but several
were developed by the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Development of orbital
weaponry was largely halted after the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and the 1979 SALT II Treaty came into force.
These agreements prohibit weapons of mass destruction (but not other weapons) being placed in space. In
2008, Russia and China proposed a draft international treaty to ban the deployment of weapons of any kind
in space and to prohibit the use of force against space objects.
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Links – Generic
Space exploration leads to militarization.
Duvall & Havercroft '6 – *Professor of Political Science @ Univ. of Minnesota and Associate Director of the
Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change AND **Assistant Professor in the Political Science
Department at the University of Oklahoma (Raymond and Johnathan, March 2006, "Taking Sovereignty Out of This
World: Space Weaponization and the Production of Late-Modern Political Subjects," Ebsco, RG)
The weaponization of space
has an intimate relationship to space
exploration, in that the history of the former is embedded in the latter , while the impetus for space exploration, in
turn, is embedded in histories of military development. Since the launch of Sputnik, states that have ability to access
and hence to explore
space have sought ways in which that access could improve their military capabilities .
Consequently, militaries in general and the U.S. military inparticular have had a strong interest in the military uses of space forthe last half
century. Early on, the military interest in space had two direct expressions: enhancingsurveillance; and developing rocketry technologies
that could be put to use for earth-based weapons, such as missiles. Militaries also have a vested interest in the “dual-use”
technologies that are often developed in space exploration missions. While NASA goes to great lengths in itspublic
relations to stress the benefits to science and the (American) public of its space explorations, it is noteworthy that many of the
technologies developed for those missions also have potential military use. The multiple interests that tie
together space exploration andspace weaponization have been vigorously pursued and now are beginning to be
substantially realized by a very small number of militaries, most notably that of the United States. For example, since the 1990
Persian Gulf War, the U.S. military has increasingly reliedon assets in space to increase its C3I (Command, Control, Communication, and
Intelligence) functions. Most of these functions are nowrouted through satellites in orbit. In addition, new precision weapons, such as
JDAM bombs, and unmanned drones, such as the Predator,rely on Global Positioning System satellites to help direct them to their targets,
and often these weapons communicate with headquartersthrough satellite uplinks. For another instance, NASA’s recently completed Deep
Impact mission, which entailed smashing part of aprobe into a comet to gather information about the content of comet nuclei, directly
served the U.S. military in developing the technologyand the logistical capabilities to intercept small objects moving at very fast speeds
(approximately 23,000 miles per hour) (NASA, 2005).As such, the technologies can be adapted for programs such as missile defense,
where a similar problem of intercepting an object movingat a very high speed is confronted
Development leads to militarization.
Pollpeter 06 [Kevin, China Project Manager for DGI's Center for Intelligence Research and Analysis, 2006,
“THE CHINESE VISION OF SPACE MILITARY OPERATIONS”,
www.defensegroupinc.com/cira/pdf/doctrinebook_ch9.pdfSimilar]
The development of space technology will inevitably lead to the militarization of space and space
militarization will lead to confrontation in space. As the struggle over air and space control is becoming the
new focal point of war, space will become the main battlefield of future wars. According to Chinese writings,
recent high-technology local wars are evidence that whoever gains air and space control will seize the
initiative. Consequently, air and space control will play an increasingly important role in modern war and
dominating space will be the one and only principle of winning future wars. Therefore, air and space control
will be the new focal point of struggle in future wars.
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Links – Development
Plan causes mixed perception of militarization – causes global militarization.
Michelson ’10 – the Roeper School Egypt Representative, Special Political Committee, 10 (Rebecca, 2010,
"Peaceful Use of Outer Space", http://www.glica.org/topics/show/78, RG)
In the years following the Cold War-inspired need for outer space domination, the United Nations continues to
value outer space as an important area for development internationally. The U.S. and Russia continue to
develop their space programs, but new major players in the outer space market follow them closely behind.
China, Japan, and India are all in the process of sending satellites into orbit for themselves, spurred on by
motivation of national pride and fear for security based on militarization of outer space. North Korea,
despite remaining extremely poor and poverty-stricken, is known to have developed long-range missiles of
their own. South Korea, however, has a well-developed technology sector, and like Japan, may be motivated
by fear of North Korea’s space technology, to bolster their own space program. Smaller parties like Malaysia
are motivated to stir up publicity for their own national pride, affording to pay Russia to allow one of their
citizens to take the trip to space.Russia wants to be a part of this Asian space development, just as the United
States wishes to continue development of space internationally, although the Americans are now reliant on
Russian rocketry for some space payloads. The United Nations committee of the Office of Outer Space Affairs
monitors threats to international security with the possible militarization of space, something a bit less
foreboding since the collapse of the Cold War following the breakup of the Soviet Union. The Arab Republic
of Egypt has signed on for peaceful ventures in outer space with India. Once partners in developing the Marut
aircraft, the two nations are newly aligned in such areas as cooperation on health, trade, and security. Egypt
endorsed the United Nations Resolution 1348 on a coordination of national research programs worldwide, and
the continued support of the Office for Outer Space Affairs. Egypt is notably concerned about the use of outer
space for military purposes, and the area becoming subject to an arms race. Egypt strongly feels that all
development of outer space should be for peaceful purposes, and hopes to see cooperation internationally in the
future toward research and development of our solar system. Egypt welcomes the opportunity to work with
other nations in continuing to safeguard outer space for peaceful purposes.
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Links – Lunar Development [1/2]
The plan undermines a cooperative program for lunar development – the push for
hegemony wrecks US space leadership
Friedman 11 – Former Executive Director of The Planetary Society (30 years). [Lou Friedman, “American
leadership,” The Space Review, Monday, February 14, 2011, http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1778/1)
American leadership in space is much more desired that resented—except when it gets used unilaterally, as in the
past Administration’s call for “dominance in cislunar space.” Asian countries (China, Japan, India) are especially
interested in lunar landings; Western countries, including the US, much less so. However, cooperating with Asian
countries in lunar science and utilization would be both a sign of American leadership and of practical benefit to US
national interests. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin has been a leader advocating such cooperation. At the same time
American leadership can be extended by leading spacefaring nations into the solar system with robotic and human
expeditions to other worlds. The US can’t do everything alone. Climate monitoring, Earth observation, space
weather prediction, and ultimately asteroid deflection are huge and vital global undertakings that require international
participation. That is also true with exploration projects sending robots and human to other worlds. American
leadership in these areas is welcomed and used by other countries, even as they develop their own national
programs. The US government should make more of this and not treat it as an afterthought—or even worse, prohibit
American leadership as the House of Representatives is doing this week by banning any China collaboration or
cooperation. (The proposed House continuing resolution for fiscal year 2011 prohibits OSTP or NASA funds to be
used for anything to do with China.) On a bigger stage I was struck by the demands of the Egyptian protesters over
the past few weeks for American leadership and engagement in reforming their country, while at the same time
strongly resenting any American interference in their country. This demand for American leadership and opposition
to American hegemony may seem inconsistent. It is not: it only emphasizes the need to recognize the difference and
use leadership for cooperation and engagement. If we Americans do this in the space program, we will accomplish
more in our many Earth, space science, and exploration projects, and we will raise higher the importance of the
space program on the national and international political agenda.
The plan guarantees militarization of the moon and risks World War III
Hatch, 10 - Executive Notes and Comments Editor, Emory International Law Review (2010, Benjamin, Emory International Law Review, “Dividing the Pie in the Sky: the Need for a
New Lunar Resources Regime,” vol. 24, rev. 229, http://www.law.emory.edu/fileadmin/journals/eilr/24/24.1/Hatch.pdf)RK
1. DO-NOTHING: The Wild West
DO-NOTHING systems impose no restrictions on commons users. n248 Rather, they permit free use (and abuse) of
the system. A DO-NOTHING [*267] system would effectively be imposed on the Moon if the OST and Moon
Agreement were repealed with no substituted agreement in their place. In combination with the natural KEEPOUT
system governing the Moon, n249 the only factor preventing the Moon from being subjected to a tragedy of the
commons would be the small number of actors dividing the vast expanse of the lunar surface. n250 On the other
hand, with no legal regime for the Moon at all, the tragedy of the commons should be the least of humanity's
worries. The total repeal of the OST and Moon Agreements would cause the Moon to cease being an object of
international law, leaving it utterly free and open for the uses of the first claimants. Rather than create a regime to
govern state interests over the Moon, this policy would cause the Moon to become the international equivalent of the
Wild West. Rights to the Moon would be defined only to the degree that those rights could be protected. The total
repeal of the OST would almost certainly solve the Moon's economic problems generated by the tragedy of the
commons. With no regulation or convoluted proprietary schemes and no legal mandate to provide for free riders, the
disincentives that have suppressed lunar development would vanish. However, this total lack of lunar law would
likely heighten the comparison to the Wild West - with no regulation, states would have an incentive to militarize
the Moon and to engage in prolonged conflicts with other would-be users to gain monopolies and exclusive uses
over valuable lunar resources. While a scheme rejecting all lunar regulation might lead to an era of free and open use
of the Moon, it also may lead to World War III.
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Links – Lunar Development [2/2]
Empirically the drive for resource access spurs conflict because the US will try to establish
a monopoly over Helium 3
Hatch, 10 - Executive Notes and Comments Editor, Emory International Law Review (2010, Benjamin, Emory
International Law Review, “Dividing the Pie in the Sky: the Need for a New Lunar Resources Regime,” vol. 24, rev.
229, http://www.law.emory.edu/fileadmin/journals/eilr/24/24.1/Hatch.pdf)RK
The historical conflicts over imperialist regimes and colonialism tend to suggest that when powerful states have an
interest in amassing something that exists in large, previously un-owned quantities in one location, they will
inevitably come into conflict with one another. States have a limited economic interest in the Antarctic, n218 and so
they are unlikely to invest military assets and the necessary financing to vindicate or broaden their claim to
something that is not generating them any wealth. In contrast, states seem to believe that they have potentially great
economic interests in the Moon and, accordingly may have a correspondingly large motivation to have conflicts over
it. n219 Exploration of the Moon will benefit humanity - on Earth, new technologies will be have to be developed to
aid states in the new space race - and on the Moon, providing new opportunities for human growth and expansion.
n220 Whatever name a regime wants to give to the Moon - res nullius [*262] or res communes - the Moon
represents an unparalleled opportunity. Imagine a situation where one state was able to not only find large quantities
of Helium-3 or some other valuable resource on the Moon but also succeeded in denying access to other states. That
state would enjoy a tremendous economic advantage by cornering the market in some ultrarare, useful commodity.
Resources by their nature breed conflict. n221 As demonstrated above, states will soon be converging on the Moon
to reap the benefits that it may provide. Given the recent actions by the United States and China, and the spirit of
conquest and competition that seems to be informing the current Moon rush, the vague and generic OST will not
be able to sufficiently stop state conflict over the greatest economic opportunity in history.
III. A Survey of Resource Regulatory Schemes Unfortunately, despite the recent surge in interest in humans
returning to the Moon, the law of outer-space minerals generally remains governed by woefully inadequate devices
that implicate the tragedy of the commons as well as violations of international peace.
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Link – Heavy Lift/Constellation Project
Heavy launch vehicles will be interpreted as a move to a global strike capability – it
substantially increases the risk of miscalc
Brown 6 – liquid rocket engine system engineer for NASA and researcher at College of Aerospace Doctrine,
Research, and Education (Kendall K., Air and Space Power Journal Summer 2006, “Is Operationally Responsive
Space the Future of Access to Space for the US Air Force,”
http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj06/sum06/brown.html)
Inclusion of a global strike capability might have a destabilizing effect on world affairs in times of heightened geopolitical tensions.
Given an HLV that can deliver either a satellite payload to orbit or a common aero vehicle with a
strike weapon to a terrestrial target, a third-party nation might detect the launch and fear a
nuclear attack by the U nited S tates. Regardless of whether such fears have any foundation, the Cold War forged a
paradigm that ICBMs deliver nuclear weapons, and a US adversary or a nation not friendly to the United States
could have difficulty distinguishing the launch of an HLV from that of an ICBM with strategic weapons,
despite the fact that the trajectories might differ. The world community would have to accept the
uncertainty that a reentry vehicle could deliver a conventional precision-guided munition-in
essence, we would be asking the world to trust us in a time of hostilities.
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Links – SPS [1/2]
SSP will be used as a death ray
Rako, 08 – technical editor of Electronics Design, Strategy, and News (Paul, “Solar power in space, a really stupid idea,” 7/25,
http://www.edn.com/blog/1700000170/post/1830030583.html
This is a flat-out lie. It’s a lie in so many places it hurts my teeth. Sweeping all the alternative energy sources
under the rug, without looking at the complex analog tradeoffs involved is an affront to reason and decency. That
is a bad enough lie. But to then follow that absurdity with the assertion that space solar power is somehow
economically possible and environmentally friendly is complete madness. Now I am going to give some sources
you can read that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this proposal is clinically insane, but first I wanted to
share an epiphany I had. Paul’s epiphany came about 5 hours into a wasted Thursday night where I should have
been in downtown San Jose having fun at the free concert. Instead I spent all night reading all the sources I could
find regarding SPS. I am embarrassed because it took five hours to realize something that was plainly stated in the
comments to the article that I read five hours before. Someone pointed out that the technology of this proposal did
not matter. This space-panel microwave gizmo was also a weapon and it would be politically impossible to
deploy it. Wow, hours of my personal time down the drain before the epiphany. The epiphany was that this thing
was exactly that, a weapon. That is why NASA researched it in the 1980s, that is what all the feasibility studies
were about and that is why it is being floated out there right now. The military industrial complex wants to test
how stupid we are. If the American people are dumb enough to believe that solar panels in space is even the
slightest bit possible then they can use that cover as they do what they really want to do, make a death
machine. The images of the Terminator movies and SkyNet are too chilling to even contemplate. Now there
may be some Pollyanna types that think our wonderful government is way too nice to ever try and develop a
death machine. Sorry, for those of you that think the United States Government is more like a fluffy little fabric
softener sheet tumbling around the dryer, making everything silky smooth and smelling fresh, well, news flash:
Governments are about coercion. Force, killing, jails, waterboards, and the rest are the essential nature and
job of the government. Sure they hand out a bunch of middle class entitlements to stay in power and keep the
sheep bleating happy sounds, but the core nature and purpose of governments is forcing people to do things. Most
of the less naive among us are OK with that. After all, I am sitting on a lovely little parcel of land that was stolen
from the Mexicans, who stole it from the Spanish priests, who stole it from the Portuguese priests, who stole it
from the Indians, who stole it from each other for 10,000 years. Works for me, I just planted some cactus in the
front yard. Of course I will be complaining about the effective 45% tax rate we engineers have to suffer till the day
I die, I hate the government forcing me to do that. But I will just kind of skirt around the benefits all the killing and
mayhem provided me. After all, I deserve a happy little Domicile of the Future here in sunny Sunnyvale. I have a
title to prove it is all mine. I am glad my government stole the land for me, just like I am glad Burger King shoots
a rod into a cow’s head so I can have a tasty burger with none of the emotional baggage. Who wants to drive a nail
into Elsie’s skull? OK, still doubtful that NASA, our beloved space program would try to fund a death
machine under the cover of alternative energy? Well, you didn’t have the benefit of working at several
military contractors, like I did. When you work at those places you invariable meet people who think in military
terms. One of them told me twenty years ago that the entire space program was a military operation. I was
incredulous. He patiently explained. See, warfare has always been about controlling the high ground. If you could
control the plains while the enemy was in the ditch, you won. If you controlled the hill while the enemy was on the
plain, you won. If you control the mountain while the enemy is on the hill, you won. If you controlled the airplanes
while the enemy was on the mountain, you won. OK, news flash, live at five, film at eleven: If you control space
while the enemy is in an airplane, you win. The military types at those military contractors told me what was
already pretty apparent—that there is no sensible scientific reason to put people in space. All the science is much
much much cheaper if you don’t need to launch life support. Sure astronauts do maintenance on the Hubble
telescope, but for what we spent developing the shuttle, especially when you count the dead astronauts, we could
have sent up a dozen Hubble telescope and just let the broken ones fall out of orbit. The space station is a
prototype AWAC and this solar-power death-machine is a prototype AC-130. And remember, for the $100 billion
we spent on the space station, every American household could get 952 dollars for gasoline. Trust me on this one;
this solar power in space stuff is a military research project to make a death machine. Then things start to
makes sense technologically and sociologically. Some of the most severe limitations of the system go away
when it is a weapon. There is no need for constant maintenance since it is used intermittently. There is no
need for a geostationary orbit, you want to be able to kill people anywhere, including and maybe especially
inside the US borders. Keeping us in control is just as important as killing foreigners. Heck you don’t even need
a geosynchronous orbit. You can put the death machine in low earth orbit. That saves a huge amount of cost
and dispenses with fantasy proposals like the NASA guy that said we should build them on the moon and then
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Links – SPS [2/2]
bring them down. I started to ask myself if these idiots have even been in a semiconductor fab, much less one on
the moon, but see, then I realized, Doctorates are not stupid. The government needed some fantasy cover story to
keep the research going in the face of the fact that the power would cost not 10, not 100 not 1000 but about 10,000
times more than terrestrial based power of any form.Ok, sorry to all you hard-core technical types for that diatribe,
but I did not want you spending 5 hours researching this like I did without understanding this is death machine
proposal, not an alternative energy proposal. Here are the sources. The URSI (Union Radio-Scientifique
Internationale) has a nice web page as well as an identical pdf that debunks most of the SPS proposals. They seem
to make an error when they say you need 10,000m2 to receive 14GW solar flux. With 1.37 kW/m2 solar flux I see
it as a million square meters, a solar panel 1 km on a side. The 14 GW is reduced to 1 GW by the 7% system
efficiency they describe. The paper is very neutral, unlike some of my ham buddies that would just say; “You want
to beam a gigawatt of RF energy into the atmosphere, and then build a whole bunch of them? Are you out of your
f*(&^ing mind?” This paper has references, both pro and con and it is the con ones that have the good reading.
One good resource is S. Fetter, “Space Solar Power: An Idea Whose Time Will Never Come?,” (pdf). Where you
might want to start is just read all the comments in the NY Times article. Read all 6 pages.
SSP directly facilitates the offensive weaponization of space
Ramos 2k – US Air Force Major, Thesis submitted for the AIR COMMAND AND STAFF COLL MAXWELL Air Force Base (Kim,
“Solar Power Constellations: Implications for the United States Air Force,” April, http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA394928)
Force ApplicationUnited States Space Command developed four operational concepts to guide their vision.One of
those operational concepts is global engagement. The USSPACECOM Long Range Plan defines global
engagement as an “integrated focused surveillance and missile defense with a potential ability to apply force
from space.”27 This application of force from space involves holding at risk earth targets with force from
space.28 New World Vistas identifies several forceapplication technologies. One of the technological issues
associated with developing these space force application technologies is that they all require large amounts
of power generation. A solar power satellite can supply the required power. Two technologies in particular
would benefit from integration with a solar power satellite, directed energy weapons, such as lasers, and
jamming devices. The space-based lasers currently under study accomplish ground moving target indication,and
air moving target indication, which would be part of missile defense.29 The main difficultywith the laser is
designing a power plant, which can produce the required energy in spacewithout the enormous solar arrays
required. By using a solar power satellite to beam power tothe laser, this eliminates the problem. Another project,
which would benefit from integration with a solar power satellite, is a device, which would beam RF power
to a particular geographic location to blind or disable any unprotected ground communications, radar,
optical, and infrared sensors.30 As with the laser andother directed energy applications, the limiting factor
right now is generating enough power in space to energize the RF beam.
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Impact – Accidental Nuclear War/Escalation
Space weapons create use it or lose it mentality that escalates any conflict to nuclear war
Theresa Hitchens-Vice President, Center for Defense Information-03 (“ U.S. Weaponization of Space: Implications for International
Security”, Center for Defense Information, http://www.cdi.org/program/document.cfm?DocumentID=1745&from_page=../index.cfm)
The negative consequences of a space arms race are hard to exaggerate, given the inherent offensedominant nature of space warfare. Space weapons, like any thing else on orbit, are inherently vulnerable and,
therefore, best exploited as first-strike weapons. Thus, as Michael Krepon and Chris Clary argue in their
monograph, “Space Assurance or Space Dominance,” the hair-trigger postures of the nuclear competition
between the United States and Russia during the Cold War would be elevated to the “ultimate high ground”
of space. Furthermore, any conflict involving ASAT use is likely to highly escalatory, in particular among
nuclear weapons states, as the objective of an attacker would be to eliminate the other side’s capabilities to
respond either in kind or on the ground by taking out satellites providing surveillance, communications and
targeting. Indeed, U.S. Air Force officials participating in space wargames have discovered that war in space
rapidly deteriorates into all-out nuclear war, precisely because it quickly becomes impossible to know if the
other side has gone nuclear. Aviation Week and Space Technology quoted one gamer as saying simply: “[If] I
don’t know what’s going on, I have no choice but to hit everything, using everything I have.” This should not
be surprising to anyone – the United States and the Soviet Union found this out very early in the Cold War, and
thus took measures to ensure transparency, such as placing emphasis on early warning radars, developing the
“hotline” and pledging to non-interference with national technical means of verification under arms control
treaties.
Space weapons lead to “hair trigger” response, heightening chances of accidental war
Charles S. Robb, Winter 99, “Star Wars II,” Washington Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 13
The third consequence of U.S. space weaponization would be the heightened probability of strategic
conflict. Anyone familiar with the destabilizing impact of MIRVs will understand that weapons in space will bring
a new meaning to the expression "hair trigger." Lasers can engage targets in seconds. Munitions fired from
satellites in low-earth orbit can reach the earth's surface in minutes. As in the MIRV scenario, the side to strike first
would be able to destroy much of its opponent's space weaponry before the opponent had a chance to respond. The
temptation to strike first during a crisis would be overwhelming; much of the decisionmaking would have to
be automated. Imagine that during a crisis one of our key military satellites stops functioning and we cannot
determine why. We--or a computer controlling our weapons for us-must then decide whether or not to treat
this as an act of war and respond accordingly. The fog of war would reach an entirely new density, with our
situational awareness of the course of battle in space limited and our decision cycles too slow to properly command
engagements. Events would occur so quickly that we could not even be sure which nation had initiated a strike. We
would be repeating history, but this time with far graver consequences.
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Impact – Accidental Nuclear War/Escalation [2/2]
Space weapons lowers the decision making time of launching weapons -causes itchy fingers
on the nuclear triggers
Marko Beljac- Foreign Policy In Focus contributor, teaches at the University of Melbourne-08 (“Arms Race in Space”,
Foreign Policy in Focus, March 31 http://www.fpif.org/articles/arms_race_in_space)
Washington argues that it has too much commercially riding on space to allow others to have the potential capability
of disrupting U.S. space assets. In 1998 the failure of one satellite, the Galaxy IV, made some 80% of pagers in the
U.S. malfunction. Though the latest Russian and Chinese space arms control proposal is flawed, because of the
clumsy definition of what constitutes a “space weapon,” this doesn’t mean that space arms control is not possible in
principle. A global space arms control regime would protect U.S., Russian, Chinese, and even Australian space
assets. An arms race in space will eventually lead other states to catch up with the United States and thereby
placing Washington's commercial satellites at risk. Space weaponization may well have cataclysmic
consequences given the link between space weapons and nuclear weapons strategy. This is because Russia,
and the United States, to a certain extent rely on satellites for early warning of nuclear attack. As other space
nations with nuclear weapons develop their space capacity it is expected that they will follow suit. The
deployment of space weapons means that the first shot in a nuclear war would be fired against these early
warning satellites. Currently strategic planners in Moscow have about 10 minutes between warning of an
attack and the decision to launch nuclear weapons in response before they impact. Weapons in space would
lower this in certain scenarios down to seconds. This would also apply for weapons placed in space that would be
considered to be defensive such as say a space based BMD interceptor or a “counter-ASAT” weapon. On occasion,
ground warning radars falsely show that a nuclear attack has been launched. In the 1990s a false alarm went
all the way up to President Boris Yeltsin and was terminated after approximately eight minutes. We are still here,
noted analysts believe, because warning satellites would have given Moscow real time information showing the
alarm to be false. Should such a false alarm coincide with an accident involving an early warning satellite when
space weapons are known to exist, an accidental nuclear exchange could result. The risk would increase if the false
alarm occurred during a crisis. Space weapons could lead to itchy fingers on nuclear triggers. They would
therefore significantly increase the importance nuclear weapon states place upon nuclear deterrence.
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Weaponization Bad – Debt [1/2]
Space weaponization races will bankrupt the US
Hayes, 9 - Lt Col, USAF, paper submitted to the Faculty of the Joint Advanced Warfighting School in partial
satisfaction of the requirements of a Master of Science Degree in Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy (Tracey,
“PROPOSAL FOR A COOPERATIVE SPACE STRATEGY WITH CHINA”,
http://dodreports.com/pdf/ada530117.pdf)
Another benefit to U.S.-China space cooperation is preventing over-spending on potentially expensive space-race
technology to include space-based offensive weapons.
Prevent Over-Spending. In 2007, it was estimated that the U.S. annual Defense Department budget (excluding
Department of Energy funding and the cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) had increased by $143 billion since
2001. Adjusted for inflation, military spending has grown 27% over this period.126 Furthermore, a study of the
fiscal year 2008 defense budget by the World Security Institute’s Center for Defense Information and the Secure
World Foundation could only find about $1 billion in potential space weapons-related research and development
funding.127 Obviously, with regards to U.S. space weapons development, budgetary realities have not equaled
declaratory policy. Further, a build-up of space-based missile defense and counter-space weapons would require a
major investment at a time when defense is fiscally constrained due to OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM and
OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM. The lack of available funding along with the premise that Democrats have
traditionally opposed increased defense spending, leads one to believe that a near-term ramp-up in defense funding
appears improbable. Furthermore, the U.S. economy is in no shape to take on a defense budget spike. The U.S. debt
is at an all-time high of $10 trillion128 and the economy is currently in a recession. While some would argue that
this would make the U.S. more vulnerable to the Chinese expansion of space capability, for others who are more
optimistic it would be logical to try to prevent the massive spending that would have to occur to fund a counterspace
weapons program. Cooperation could also reveal some duplicative space efforts common to both the U.S. and China
which could prove mutually beneficial for both countries.
Debt collapses hegemony, ushers in an age of multipolarity that breeds prolif, miscalc, Asian war, and
Chinese aggression – WWII empirically proves
Khalizad 2/8 (Zalmay, former US ambassador to Afghanistan, former US ambassador to Iraq, United States
Permanent Representative to the United Nations, counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies,
2/8/11, National Review, “The Economy and National Security”
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/print/259024) Today, economic and fiscal trends pose the most severe longterm threat to the United States’ position as global leader. While the United States suffers from fiscal imbalances
and low economic growth, the economies of rival powers are developing rapidly. The continuation of these two
trends could lead to a shift from American primacy toward a multi-polar global system, leading in turn to increased
geopolitical rivalry and even war among the great powers. The current recession is the result of a deep financial
crisis, not a mere fluctuation in the business cycle. Recovery is likely to be protracted. The crisis was preceded by
the buildup over two decades of enormous amounts of debt throughout the U.S. economy — ultimately totaling
almost 350 percent of GDP — and the development of credit-fueled asset bubbles, particularly in the housing sector.
When the bubbles burst, huge amounts of wealth were destroyed, and unemployment rose to over 10 percent. The
decline of tax revenues and massive countercyclical spending put the U.S. government on an unsustainable fiscal
path. Publicly held national debt rose from 38 to over 60 percent of GDP in three years. Without faster economic
growth and actions to reduce deficits, publicly held national debt is projected to reach dangerous proportions. If
interest rates were to rise significantly, annual interest payments — which already are larger than the defense budget
— would crowd out other spending or require substantial tax increases that would undercut economic growth. Even
worse, if unanticipated events trigger what economists call a “sudden stop” in credit markets for U.S. debt, the
United States would be unable to roll over its outstanding obligations, precipitating a sovereign-debt crisis that
would almost certainly compel a radical retrenchment of the United States internationally. Such scenarios would
reshape the international order. It was the economic devastation of Britain and France during World War II, as well
as the rise of other powers, that led both countries to relinquish their empires. In the late 1960s, British leaders
concluded that they lacked the economic capacity to maintain a presence “east of Suez.” Soviet economic weakness,
which crystallized under Gorbachev, contributed to their decisions to withdraw from Afghanistan, abandon
Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, and allow the Soviet Union to fragment. If the U.S. debt problem goes
critical, the United States would be compelled to retrench, reducing its military spending and shedding international
commitments. We face this domestic challenge while other major powers are experiencing rapid economic growth.
Even though countries such as China, India, and Brazil have profound political, social, demographic, and economic
CONTINUES…
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Weaponization Bad – Debt [2/2]
CONTINUED…
problems, their economies are growing faster than ours, and this could alter the global distribution of power. These
trends could in the long term produce a multi-polar world. If U.S. policymakers fail to act and other powers continue
to grow, it is not a question of whether but when a new international order will emerge. The closing of the gap
between the United States and its rivals could intensify geopolitical competition among major powers, increase
incentives for local powers to play major powers against one another, and undercut our will to preclude or respond
to international crises because of the higher risk of escalation. The stakes are high. In modern history, the longest
period of peace among the great powers has been the era of U.S. leadership. By contrast, multi-polar systems have
been unstable, with their competitive dynamics resulting in frequent crises and major wars among the great powers.
Failures of multi-polar international systems produced both world wars. American retrenchment could have
devastating consequences. Without an American security blanket, regional powers could rearm in an attempt to
balance against emerging threats. Under this scenario, there would be a heightened possibility of arms races,
miscalculation, or other crises spiraling into all-out conflict. Alternatively, in seeking to accommodate the stronger
powers, weaker powers may shift their geopolitical posture away from the United States. Either way, hostile states
would be emboldened to make aggressive moves in their regions. As rival powers rise, Asia in particular is likely to
emerge as a zone of great-power competition. Beijing’s economic rise has enabled a dramatic military buildup
focused on acquisitions of naval, cruise, and ballistic missiles, long-range stealth aircraft, and anti-satellite
capabilities. China’s strategic modernization is aimed, ultimately, at denying the United States access to the seas
around China. Even as cooperative economic ties in the region have grown, China’s expansive territorial claims —
and provocative statements and actions following crises in Korea and incidents at sea — have roiled its relations
with South Korea, Japan, India, and Southeast Asian states. Still, the United States is the most significant barrier
facing Chinese hegemony and aggression. Given the risks, the United States must focus on restoring its economic
and fiscal condition while checking and managing the rise of potential adversarial regional powers such as China.
While we face significant challenges, the U.S. economy still accounts for over 20 percent of the world’s GDP.
American institutions — particularly those providing enforceable rule of law — set it apart from all the rising
powers. Social cohesion underwrites political stability. U.S. demographic trends are healthier than those of any other
developed country. A culture of innovation, excellent institutions of higher education, and a vital sector of small and
medium-sized enterprises propel the U.S. economy in ways difficult to quantify. Historically, Americans have
responded pragmatically, and sometimes through trial and error, to work our way through the kind of crisis that we
face today.
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Answers To: “Space Militarization is key to Hegemony”
1. It doesn’t matter – Space weaponization is inherently more unstable than other military
capabilities so even countries are afraid of us they will start wars by accident. That’s 1NC
Mitchell.
2. Space race guarantees that the U.S. won’t be ahead, everyone will have the same
technology.
3. Space militarization trades off with on-earth military capability, giving other countries
an advantage.
Michael Krepon, arms control expert and President Emeritus, The Stimson Center, with Chrisopher Clary, SPACE ASSURANCE OR
SPACE DOMINANCE: THE CASE AGAINST WEAPONIZING SPACE, 2003, Henry L. Stimson Center, p. 107.
The argument presented here is that terrestrial U.S. military dominance would be impaired, rather than
enhanced, by American initiatives to weaponize space. While the United States clearly has the ability to
outspend competitors, and to produce more advanced types of space weaponry, weaker adversaries will have
affordable, asymmetric means to counter U.S. initiatives in space, as well as on earth. The net result of an
uneven competition to weaponize space would be that prudent U.S. defense planners could not count on protecting
space assets, and that weaker adversaries could not count on the negation of U.S. advantages. Neither could be
certain of the outcome of space warfare, but both adversaries would have to fear the worst. Because of the
vulnerability of space assets to ASATs, both would need to assume a dangerous “hair-trigger” posture in space—
unless the United States employed preemptive military means to prevent the launch or deployment of presumably
hostile space assets belonging to other states.
4. Deterrence fails – it assumes perfect rationality when strategic cultures in space will be
vastly different
Smith, 11 – USAF Colonel, Director of the Air Force Space and Cyber Center at Air University. He served in the
Pentagon’s National Security Space Office as the Chief of the Future Concepts shop (M.V., Toward a Theory of
Space Power: Selected Essays, February, http://www.ndu.edu/press/lib/pdf/spacepower/spacepower.pdf)
Unfortunately, deterrence is based on an abstraction where there is no limit to the extreme of violence that can be
threatened in retaliation. As Clausewitz noted, "Each side, therefore, compels its opponent to follow suit; a
reciprocal action is started which must lead, in theory, to extremes."15 This tendency can easily lead to arms racing.
Assurances are faith-based at best. Meanwhile, dissuasion and deterrence come with very real risks. Both
presuppose that both sides of a potential confrontation are equally rational, have equal understanding of the stakes,
and are using the same rational calculus to establish policy in an interactive fashion.16 Given the differences in the
strategic cultures of the players involved, these presumptions can never be the case in reality. As a result, there are
margins of error associated with every calculation. A state that overtly builds offensive space weapons for the
purpose of enabling dissuasive and deterrent strategies for war prevention may be misunderstood as having hostile
intentions that trigger security concerns across the globe. The same is true for a state that may build what it
considers to be a defensive system but that has an apparent dual application as an offensive system. China's test of a
direct ascent antisatellite weapon in January 2007 may be a case in point.17 A state may do its best to tailor its
forces to support dissuasive and deterrent strategies and focus them at whatever it suspects the enemy holds dear,
only to discover that the enemy reacts quite differently than expected. There are no guarantees.18 A way to reduce
the margins of error and the risk associated with direct hard power war prevention strategies is to include them
within the policy-driven context of both indirect strategies suggested above: within the framework of global
transparency and within broad international partnerships.
18
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affirmative
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Non-Unique – Space Mil Now
Non-unique: space militarized now
Oberg, 8 (James, “Sense, Nonsense, and Pretense about the Destruction of USA 193,” The Space Review, 3-4-08,
http://www.spacedebate.org/argument/1139)
Myth #8: Russia and China will be "forced" to respond by developing corresponding weapons. This
"blank check for the bad
guys" claim seems to be a view espoused by spokesmen for DC lobby groups, for foreign governments, and
for other associations who seem to favor one spin in common: any foreign action allegedly sparked by
anybody's worries about US actions is excusable, while any US action sparked by activities of another nation is dangerously
paranoid. But China has already "pre-responded" with its own test a year ago—a weapon with far greater
capability (and leaving far worse space pollution) than the US missile. As for Russia, it's had its space-capable antimissile defense shield deployed around Moscow for decades, and recently reopened a mothballed missile
test range at Sary Shagan in Kazakhstan to test-fire upgraded missiles. They are probably launched so far
only against imaginary missile or space targets, or potentially against real ones with no final impacts. Even
if one of them is soon used in a demonstration against a satellite, it will represent nothing new in their
arsenal, only the exercise of a latent capability that had always been there.
Weaponization happening now-new technologies prove
Cooper, 10 (Charles, CBS editor, “ Unmanned Space Plane Opening Door to Space Weaponization?”,http://www.cbsnews.com/8301501465_162-20003159-501465.html)
After a decade of development work, the Air Force is finally ready to launch its secret space plane, the
unmanned X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle from Cape Canaveral.The craft is expected to spend up to nine months in orbit and will reenter Earth on autopilot. It will land like an airplane at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. That much is publicly available. Much of the rest
has become fodder for speculation. The only thing the government is saying officially is that the 29-foot-long delta-wing craft will conduct
classified experiments while in orbit. Speaking earlier in the week, Gary Payton, the Air Force's deputy under secretary for the space program,
said the Air Force's main interest is to test the craft's automated flight control system and learn about the cost of turning it around for launch
again. Piecing together the available clues, Popular Mechanics suggests that the X-37B might resemble "a miniature
version of the space shuttle. The publication notes that the launch "will mark the fulfillment of a dream the
Department of Defense has been pursuing for nearly 50 years: the orbital flight of a military vehicle that
combines an airplane's agility with a spacecraft's capacity to travel in orbit at 5 miles per second." NASA
began the X-37B project in 1999, but the program was later moved under the Defense Department's auspices. It eventually found a home in the
Air Force. The ensuing shroud of secrecy fed speculation that the U.S. military was interested in weaponizing
space. So, what is the likely end game? The Christian Science Monitor raises the obvious question of whether this is a precursor to war in
orbit. The fact that the US may have an aircraft that can remain airborne for such extended periods
"provides you with all kinds of capability, both military and civilian," Chris Hellman, a policy analyst with the National
Priorities Project told the Monitor.
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Answers To: Miscalculation Impact
Multiple historical examples prove miscalculation or single strikes won’t escalate
Steven Lambakis, senior defense analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy, 2001. Policy Review 105, “Space Weapons: Refuting
the Critics,” http://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/6612
Those who believe we run extraordinary risks stemming from clouded perceptions and misunderstandings
in an age of computerized space warfare might want to take a look at some real-world situations of high
volatility in which potentially provocative actions took place. Take, for example, the tragedies involving the USS Stark and USS Vincennes.
In May 1987, an Iraqi F-1 Mirage jet fighter attacked the Stark on patrol to protect neutral shipping in the Persian Gulf, killing 37 sailors. Iraq,
a "near-ally" of the United States at the time, had never before attacked a U.S. ship. Analysts concluded that misperception and faulty
assumptions led to Iraq’s errant attack. The memory of the USS Stark no doubt preoccupied the crew of the USS Vincennes, which little over a
year later, in July 1988, was also on patrol in hostile Persian Gulf waters. The Vincennes crew was involved in a "half war" against Iran, and at
the time was fending off surface attacks from small Iranian gunboats. Operating sophisticated technical systems under high stress and rules of
engagement that allowed for anticipatory self-defense, the advanced Aegis cruiser fired anti-aircraft missiles at what it believed to be an Iranian
military aircraft set on an attack course. The aircraft turned out to be a commercial Iran Air flight, and 290 people perished owing to mistakes
in identification and communications. To these examples we may add a long list of tactical blunders growing out of
ambiguous circumstances and faulty intelligence, including the U.S. bombing in 1999 of the Chinese
Embassy in Belgrade during Kosovo operations. Yet though these tragic actions occurred in near-war or tinderbox
situations, they did not escalate or exacerbate local instability. The world also survived U.S.-Soviet "near
encounters" during the 1948 Berlin crisis, the 1961 Cuban missile crisis, and the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli
wars. Guarded diplomacy won the day in all cases. Why would disputes affecting space be any different?
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Space Weaponization Good-Hegemony
Space militarization key to hegemony
Waller 2001 (J. Michael Miller is a reporter for Insight on the News, published March 9 2001, “Militarizing Space” accessed 7/8/10
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_11_17/ai_72274730/ aes)
The nation with military control of space will have the capability to control international communications
and access to land, sea and air. If the U.S. should lose its present control of space, it will mark the end of its
status as a global superpower. Sen. Robert Smith, R-N.H., was grimly serious. "Whoever controls space will control the
destiny of the Earth," he declared. "And when you look at the options out there, I would ask you, who do you want it to be? Iran? Russia?
Iraq? China?" Smith was raising those tough questions at a recent seminar on space power at the prestigious Center for Security Policy in
Washington. Not given to flamboyant rhetoric, the plainspoken New Hampshireman continued, " To those who say we can't militarize
space, I must say, `Do you want somebody else to do it?'" China and Russia want to. So do likely or incipient nuclear powers Pakistan, India,
Iraq and North Korea. And it isn't just those with military ambitions, say leading defense authorities. Now, thanks
to commercialization of many space technologies, any individual or group with the cash can buy the
hardware and software to cause havoc for U.S. security interests in space. Space holds the key to U.S.
communications -- not only for the military, but for every single citizen whose news and entertainment, telephone calls, Internet surfing,
banking and financial services depend on satellites. Vulnerable to attack is the entire communications system on which the
U.S. economy now depends. Equally vulnerable is the U.S. mainland itself. Any defense against incoming
ballistic missiles -- be they short-range or strategic rockets with nuclear warheads -- must rely heavily on
space-based sensors and, in some cases, space-based weapons to shoot down the missiles or warheads before
they land.
That’s key to prevent nuclear war.
Khalilzad, Rand Corporation 95 (Zalmay Khalilzad, Spring 1995. RAND Corporation. “Losing the Moment?” The Washington
Quarterly 18.2, Lexis.)
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.
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