Franklin High School

2007 Critical Issues Forum

Space: Forum for Cooperation or Next Frontier for WMD Proliferation?

Participants:

Mitesh Patel, Vinh Bui, Christina Modica,

Kalissa Morgan, Will Sorensen

Coordinator:

Rene Mendoza

Benchmark I

Objective 1—Definitions

Basic Spatial Representations

A) Earth’s Planetary Region

B) Earth-Sun-Moon System

C) Earth’s Immediate Spatial relationship (The Atmosphere)

PowerPoint Presentation on Space Security, Satellites, and Space-Based Weapons

Objective 2—Background: History of Man in Space

History of Space Exploration by the Two Foremost Space Programs:

US and USSR (Russian federation)

Timeline of US Space Achievements

1958	- First successful American satellite: USAF 31 lb Explorer - First successful Vanguard launching - US Congress “Space Act” Establishes NASA (National Aeronautical Space Agency)
1958	- A Monkey is launched and lost
1959	- Two monkeys return safe
1961	- Kennedy pledges the US will put a man on Moon before the decade is over, and calls for millions of dollars to fund the space programme. - First manned American space-flight by astronaut Alan Shepard, only sub-orbital
1962	- First American orbital flight by NASA; John Glenn orbits for 5-hrs in Mercury 6 - Ranger 4 get TV close-up pictures of the Moon
1965	- First American 'space-walk'
1965	- Close range photographs of Mars obtained from Mariner 4
1966	- First American soft-landing on the Moon (Surveyor 1) - Improved close-range photographs of the Moon from 846-lb Orbiter 1
1967	- Three astronauts die in Apollo 1 Tragedy. A fire sweeps through the Apollo capsule designed for manned flight to the Moon during rehearsals at Cape Kennedy, and astronauts are unable to open the hatch to escape.
1968	- First flight round the Moon: Apollo 8 (Borman, Lovell, Anders)
1969	- July 21 First men on the moon in Apollo 11 (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrinin the LEM, Eagle, and Michael Collins in orbit above in CM) “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind”
1972	- NASA launches Pioneer 10 for first Jupiter fly-by in December 1973
1983	- First female US astronaut Sally Ride returns safely to Earth in the Challenger space shuttle after a successful six-day flight.
1984	- Bruce McCandless is first human to orbit Earth during space-walk, becoming first human satellite.
1986	- First probe to reach Uranus
1989	-First probe to reach Neptune - Voyager 2
1990	- NASA successfully launches the space shuttle Discovery from Cape Canaveral in Florida on mission to carry the Hubble space telescope into orbit 611.5 km above the Earth.
2003	- The US space shuttle Columbia brakes up as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts on board.
2004	- Spirit and Opportunity, unmanned NASA rovers sent to explore Mars, land on the surface of the planet, and begin looking for signs of water.

Timeline of USSR/Russian Federation Space Achievements

1957	- Sputnik is launched, the first earth orbiter, starting the great space race. - Russia sends the first dog into space on Sputnik II. The dog, Laika, remains alive for 10 days, proving that animals can survive space flights.
1959	- Russians launch Luna 1 (first probe to go near the Moon) - 358-lb. Soviet Luna 2 made first crash-landing on the Moon - The Russian space probe Lunik III provides the first images of the far side of the moon.
1961	- Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to orbit Earth in his space ship Vostok. - Gherman Titov spends more than a day in space (25 hours) in the second Vostok manned flight in August
1962	- Russians launch the first Mars probe, but contact lost - Venus probe Mariner 2 sends back close-range information about Venus
1963	- First maneuverable satellite (Polyot 1, USSR) - Two spacecraft in orbit at the same time (Nikolayev and Popovich, USSR) - First space-woman (Valentina Tereshkova-Nikolayeva, USSR)
1965	- Cosmonaut Aleksei A. Leonov takes the first space walk, a 20-minute excursion outside his spacecraft, Voskhod 2.
1966	- First soft landing on the Moon, by Luna 9 (USSR)
1971	- Soviets launched Mars 2 and 3 for first impact on Mars the planet by Mars 2 and first soft landing on Dec 2, 1971 by Mars 3 - First soft-landing on Venus by (USSR)
1975	- Space probes Venera 9 and Venera 10 provide the first pictures from the surface of Venus. - The first cooperative U.S.-Soviet space mission, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, is launched; a three-man Apollo spacecraft docks with the two-man Soviet Soyuz 19.
1987	- Cosmonaut Yuri Viktorovich Romanenko sets a new record when he returns to Earth from the Mir space station after 326 days.
1987	- First permanently-occupied space station, Space Station MIR (USSR)
1988	- Longest manned space-flight - 365 days by cosmonauts Titov and Manarov (USSR)
1994	- Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev is the first Russian to fly on the American space shuttle, paving the way for future cooperative space ventures.

Sources

http://my.execpc.com/~culp/space/timeline.html

http://www.seasky.org/spacexp/sky5d.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_exploration

Objective 3—Space as an Area for military Competition

First through the seas and then through the sky, armed forces have exploited the vast regions within Earth well throughout history. After centuries of sailing, WWI opened a new field of battle in the air. Airplanes jetted through winds at increasingly high altitudes. But it was not long until humans would penetrate even higher, to the mystical arena of space. During the Cold War, Soviet Russia and the US began space exploration programs, and coinciding with an arms race, intents of militarization were evident. However, following the fall of the USSR, the post-Cold War era sees that the militarization of space has reduced in danger. But some past and current projects of the three space powers – the United States, Russia, and China – still pose large threats to the world. Establishing a new frontier for war while nuclear weapons are still in abundance presents a closer reality to the potential destruction of humanity. And only through diplomatic relations among acting nations and the continuation of weapons treaties will the safety of space and the world remain available.

The current use of spy satellites by the three major space powers creates tension among already suspicious states. Using such satellites, countries can anticipate potential dangers of other threatening nations. As in the case of “India and Pakistan, [reconassiance satellites] revealed to the world their nuclear capabilities.” (“Militarisation of Space”) With the impending risks of military buildup and weaponizing, a wary country will take immediate military action to prevent a devastating attack, though in the process, invoking a war. Moreover, spy satellites can lead to unwanted attention from rogue states, bringing a war into space. With the development of Anti-Satellite Weapons (ASATs) recon satellites have a high vulnerability of being destroyed. Because “direct ascent ASAT rockets are within the reach of many countries,” wrecking a satellite “can provide valuable support to a hostile country's concealment and deception programs.” (Thomson) And the destruction of a multi-million dollar space machine would not be taken lightly, especially if attacked by a hostile nation.

As many nations have come into possession of nuclear weapons, there remains a possibility that nuclear war may occur. With the creation of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), these weapons of mass destruction have a much longer range. They are “launched in sub-orbital spaceflight,” thus being able to reach into outer space and hit a designated target. (“Militarisation of Space”) Furthermore, with capabilities to send nuclear warheads into space, war among rivaling nations is promising. Beginning with the launch of “high-altitude nuclear [weapons]…, an electromagnetic pulse” emanating from the resulting explosion will destroy surrounding satellites and/or space systems. (“Nuclear Testing”) In a domino effect, conflicts will arise, ending in either a devastating world war or a nuclear holocaust.

 Evidently, continued research into space results in the fact that “the militarization of space is inevitable.” (Davis) The arms race and space programs of the Cold War have brought forth the current threat and reality of weaponizing outer space. But how can the world prevent devastating effects such as nuclear war or otherwise? As seen in the nuclear testing treaties, international agreements have kept the world safer from the domineering mushroom cloud. Continued relations between nations that have obtained WMDs and space access must be present to maintain a more peaceful use of space. Space will be militarized, but it does not have to spur war and conflict. As “the doctrine of mutually assured destruction has worked for the past 35 years,” the world has witnessed an effective agreement that has prevented a nuclear holocaust thus far. (Davis) A continuation and constant reminder of this doctrine is a large aid to the safer militarization of space. Through actions of the United Nations and other international organizations, this can be achieved, and space will become a new frontier – not for war – but for the expansion of humanity.

Works Cited

Davis, Major Christopher A. “The Militarization Of Space--Spurring Or Deterring Future

Conflict?” Global Security. 2005. Global Security.org. 4 Mar 2007 <http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/library/report/1989/DCA.htm>.

“Militarisation of Space.” Wikipedia. 2007. Wikimedia Foundation. 3 Mar 2007

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militarization_of_space>.

“Nuclear Testing.” Wikipedia. 2007. Wikimedia Foundation. 4 Mar 2007

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_testing#Nuclear_testing_by_country>.

Thomson, Allen. “Satellite Vulnerability: a post-Cold War issue?” Global Security. 2005. Global

Security.org. 4 Mar 2007 <http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/library/report/1995/at_sp.htm>.