The Space Shuttle was better than Russian Spacecraft during the same period.

I will first provide my argument for the space shuttle and compare it with the Russian Soyuz since this was the major Russian human spaceflight program that operated during the same time as the space shuttle. Secondly, since my opponent provided opening arguments in the first round, I will rebut those arguments. Before starting, I'd like to clarify that "Russian Spacecraft during the same time period" means the Soyuz which operated in roughly the same time period as the Space Shuttle Era. It doesn't necessarily mean the exact dates from which the Shuttle launched and retired because Russian Space Programs didn't start and stop at these exact dates. (I) OPENING ARGUMENTS1) ReusabilityUnlike the Soyuz, the Space Shuttle was reusable. While the Shuttle may have cost more to maintain, NASA didn't continually have to build new shuttles.2) Amount of space available within spacecraftThe space shuttle is a massive structure with a volume of 2,500 cubic feet and can accomodate 6 astronauts who can have a comfortable ride. The Soyuz on the other hand has 141 cubic feet of habitable volume for 3 cosmonauts who sit with their knees drawn up to their chest and must sit that way for the entire ride. In fact, TIME magazine makes an interesting analogy: If the Shuttles were business class and the old apollo was coach, the Soyuz is a little like hiding in the wheel well for a coast to coast flight. [1] It would be even more difficult for larger astronauts to adjust to the Soyuz stlye now that NASA will be using the Soyuz to get people to and from the International Space Station.3) Payload capacityThe space shuttle had a payload capacity of over 50,000 lbs [5] whereas the Soyuz only had a capacity of 7,000 lbs [4].4) LandingFinally, the biggest difference between the Shuttle and the Soyuz is the re-entry and landing. The Shuttle would slow its speed and enter the atmosphere belly first, after which it would glide to a runway where it would land like an airplane[3]. Astronauts sit upright through this phase[1] and experience about 3.5g's of force on landing [5]. The landing module of Soyuz on the other hand, after detaching falls into the atmosphere at 492 mph before its parachutes open. The Soyuz also experiences a blackout period where there is no communication between the cosmonauts and ground controls. Even with the parachutes and retrorockets, it smacks the ground hard with 5g's of force experienced by the Russian cosmonauts. [6] (II) REBUTTALS1) International Space Station was a waste of moneyThis is just my opponent's opinion. No sources given to support this.2) The Shuttle itself was more expensive than the SoyuzIt was more expensive than Soyuz but it was better for reasons I've mentioned in my argument.3) Fatalities compared to SoyuzMy opponent mentioned that while 4 Soviet cosmonauts have died in the Soyuz program whereas 14 NASA astronauts have died in the Space Shuttle program. However, to truly find out which program is safer, we need to look at how many fatal failures occurred, not just the number of fatalities. The Soviet program had two disasters Soviet 1 and Soviet 11 in which all the cosmonauts died. The Space Shuttle program had 2 disasters Challenger and Columbia in which all the astronauts died. [2] The Space Shuttle had 133 successes and 2 failures. So for safety purposes, the Space Shuttle was not necessarily less safe than the Soyuz. It just carried more people in it during all missions including the failed missions. Sources [1] . http://www.time.com...[2] . http://en.wikipedia.org...[3] . http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov...[4] . http://webcache.googleusercontent.com...[5] . http://en.wikipedia.org...[6] . http://www.jamesoberg.com...