Policy Debate On Putting Laser Ballistic Missile Defense System in Space

----U.S. safe from EMPs Carafano 09 (James Carafano, Senior Research Fellow for National Security at Heritage, written July 8, 2009, http://www.missilethreat.com..., accessed Oct. 31, 2011, AL) The Commission expresses confidence in the Ground-Based Interceptors (GBIs) currently deployed in California and Alaska, with ten additional interceptors slated for deployment at a third site in Poland. This system has demonstrated some capability against unsophisticated threats and should undergo additional system testing to determine its effectiveness against more complex threats that include technologies intended to help in-coming missiles penetrate the defense (so-called penetration aids). Further development and deployment...should depend on results of these tests and on developments in the ICBM threats facing the United States and its allies. ----GBI operational since 1999 and still no problems Maas 11(peter maas, writer for New York Times, Oct. 14, 2011, Get Ready, Here Comes The Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle; Star Wars Missile Defense: The Sequel, http://www.missilethreat.com..., accessed Nov. 1, 2011, AL) Since 1999, MDA has conducted seven hit-to-kill tests. Five have been successful. The most recent was on October 14, 2002, when a GBI from the Reagan Test Site in the central Pacific Ocean tracked and destroyed a target vehicle launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at an altitude of 140 miles and a closing speed in excess of 15,000 miles per hour. MDA plans to perform approximately 17 more hit-to-kill intercepts over the next several years. Due to these successes, the GBI program has received enthusiastic support from the Bush Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress. MDA is currently installing six GBI missiles at Fort Greely in Alaska and four at Vandenberg Air Force Base Over 20 interceptors are scheduled for deployment over the next two years. Inherency 2/3 ----Space Bassed Interceptors shot missles down on Earth not Space The Freedictionary.com 11 (http://www.thefreedictionary.com..., accessed 6/23/11, AL) Space- the region beyond the earth's atmosphere occurring between the celestial bodies of the universe.The density is normally negligible although cosmic rays, meteorites, gas clouds, etc., can occur. It can be divided into cislunar space (between the earth and moon), interplanetary space, interstellar space, and intergalactic space ----Weponization illegal under OST The Outer Space Treaty was considered by the Legal Subcommittee in 1966 and agreement was reached in the General Assembly in the same year(resolution 2222 (XXI). The Treaty was largely based on the Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, which had been adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 1962 (XVIII) in 1963, but added a few new provisions. The Treaty was opened for signature by the three depository Governments (the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States of America) in January 1967, and it entered into force in October 1967. The Outer Space Treaty provides the basic framework on international space law, including the following principles: the exploration and use of outer space shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries and shall be the province of all mankind; outer space shall be free for exploration and use by all States;outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means; States shall not place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies or station them in outer space in any other manner;the Moon and other celestial bodies shall be used exclusively for peaceful purposes; astronauts shall be regarded as the envoys of mankind; States shall be responsible for national space activities whether carried out by governmental or non-governmental entities; States shall be liable for damage caused by their space objects; and States shall avoid harmful contamination of space and celestial bodies. ----New Outer Space treaty illegalizes wepons in space Outer Space Security and Development Treaty of 2011 (page 9http://www.openminds.tv..., accessed Dec. 1, 2011, AL) This Treaty bans the “weaponization” of space. The “militarization” of space, which has occurred, requires a new definition for the purposes of this Treaty. Militaries already provide enhanced intelligence and communication, observation and data sharing, and can help to pave a safe way for humans to enter into the universes and for members of Cosmic Cultures to enter the Earth sphere safely. ----Lockheed Martin Corp. is doing plan and has failed all 4 times Mintz 97 (John Mintz, staff writer for the Washington Post, written March 7, 1997, http://www.fas.org..., accessed Dec. 2, 2011, AL) An anti-missile missile being developed by Lockheed Martin Corp. failed its fourth test flight in a row yesterday, clouding the future of the $17 billion program and illustrating anew the technical difficulties in the missile defenses envisioned by President Reagan in the 1980s. The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO), the military command conducting the test, said it hasn't determined why the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile failed to hit its missile target at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. "The interceptor took off fine and the radar worked," said Lt. Col. Rick Lehner, a BMDO spokesman. "It just didn't hit the target." Test operators then blew up both missiles by remote control, he said. "Preliminary indications" are that an on-board computer that prevents the missile from shimmying malfunctioned, Lehner said. The three previous failures had prompted mounting concern about the program inside the company and the Pentagon. Last month, Pentagon acquisition chief Paul Kaminski said another test failure in the near future would prompt a major restructuring of the project. "I don't think we're going to see funding for ballistic missile systems that aren't working," Kaminski told Aviation Week & Space Technology then. ----Wepons in space causes Kessler Syndrome Dutt 11 (Varun Dutt,Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University,http://www.mydigitalfc.com..., written Oct. 10, 2011, accessed Nov. 28, 2011, AL) According to a recent NASA report, the space around earth is home to over 135 million small pieces of junk; another 300,000 medium size pieces (between 1 and 10 centimeters); and over 22,000 significant pieces of trash (over 10 centimeters across). Over 30 per cent of the debris can be attributed to the US alone, reports NASA. In 2009, a US Iridium commercial satellite and an inoperative Russian satellite collided, spreading debris everywhere. A report by the US National Research Council (NRC) says that the problem of space debris is getting worse and has passed a “tipping point.” According to the NRC report, we are currently reaching a critical capacity, known as the “Kessler Syndrome” (named after former head of NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office, Donald Kessler), in which debris collisions create more debris, which, in turn, is more likely to hit other objects