Russia Adv – 1ac

UQ – US Losing Now

US is falling behind in space leadership-India, China and Russia

Shipman 08 (Tim, Washington Bureau Chief at Sunday Telegraph, June 28, 2008 “Buzz Aldrin: Invest in Nasa to beat the Chinese to Mars” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/2211940/Buzz-Aldrin-Invest-in-Nasa-to-beat-the-Chinese-to-Mars.html )HDG
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Aldrin revealed that he intends to lobby Barack Obama and John McCain, the two US presidential candidates, in an effort to ensure they find sufficient funds for Nasa's goal to establish a permanent base on the Moon and then send a manned mission to Mars. Nasa celebrates its 50th anniversary this year but faces grave embarrassment. The ill-fated Shuttle is due to make its last flight in 2010 but it will be a further five years before its replacement, the Ares rocket and Orion crew capsule - also intended for trips to the moon - are ready. In that time American astronauts will have to hitch lifts on Russian Soyuz flights merely to visit the International Space Station. Mr Aldrin, 78, said: "To me it's abysmal that it has come to this: after 50 years of Nasa, and after putting about $100 billion into the space station, we can't get our own astronauts to our space station without relying on the Russians." He said his message to the next president is this: "Retain the vision for space exploration. If we turn our backs on the vision again, we're going to have to live in a secondary position in human space flight for the rest of the century." He added: "These are important issues for consideration by the potential leaders of our country. They're not welcome criticisms for the present heads of NASA." Earlier this month Rick Gilbreth, the head of the space agency's lunar exploration programme, warned that Chinese astronauts were on schedule to get to the moon by 2017 or 2018, two or three years before America is due to return. Mr Aldrin said: "All the Chinese have to do is fly around the Moon and back, and they'll appear to have won the return to the Moon with humans. They could put one person on the surface of the Moon for one day and he'd be a national hero." China only put its first astronaut into space in 2003 and its ambitions are more limited than Nasa's, but a Chinese moon landing before America's would be a serious blow to morale in the US space industry. On June 20, the House of Representatives pledged $2bn (£1bn) in extra funds to narrow the gap between the last Shuttle flight and the first flight by its replacement, but the money has not been approved by the Senate and is likely to be vetoed by President Bush. Mr Aldrin is critical of Nasa's failure properly to fund commercial ventures for spacecraft which could take astronauts to the space station between 2010 and 2015. He said: "If we really wanted that to happen, we sure should have started putting more money into that programme sooner." It is all a far cry from the national pride that accompanied the Apollo programme, in which Mr Aldrin followed Neil Armstrong on to the surface of the Moon in July, 1969. Now he wants Nasa to generate the same kind of enthusiasm as it mustered during the 1960s. "It's good for morale," he said. "The biggest benefit of Apollo was the inspiration it gave to a growing generation to get into science and aerospace. Are we inspiring the workforce now to work on the things we need? No!" Mr Aldrin is also critical of the approach taken by Nasa in commissioning new crew vehicles that will splash down on water, rather than on a runway like the Shuttle. He says that is the best design for a moon vehicle, but will not encourage other ventures into space. In particular, it will not be suitable for short flights into low orbits, of a kind that could be used for space tourism - potentially a valuable new source of revenue for Nasa. "Americans have been watching for over 25 years spacecraft coming back and landing on a runway," he said. "It is going to be a bitter disappointment to people here." Meanwhile Russia may adapt and enlarge its own Soyuz spacecraft in order to accommodate tourists, giving them an effective monopoly of travel into low earth orbit. India is also a keen participant in space, regularly launching satellites and with plans to start testing a prototype reusable launch vehicle later this year that could take off and land like an aeroplane. Last year Japan became the first country since the Apollo programme to launch an unmanned lunar orbiter. They have a stated goal of setting up a manned moon base by 2030. Mr Aldrin now acts as an ambassador for space exploration and new developments in space technology through his company Starcraft Boosters. Mr Aldrin says he is joining forces with other space campaigners to give his unvarnished views to the presidential candidates. Republican John McCain has expressed support for the Constellation programme to return to the Moon but the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, has questioned public interest in Nasa's space plans. "I'm trying to assemble the best advice to two new candidates who are approaching election," Mr Aldrin said. "There will be one person preparing to take over the government in January to implement things that are of great concern." The space programme was nowhere near the top of the list, he said. "We want to get in there and talk to them because it's so important. "Globalisation means many other countries are asserting themselves and trying to take over leadership. Please don't ask Americans to let others assume the leadership of human exploration. "We can do wonderful science on the Moon, and wonderful commercial things. Then we can pack up and move on to Mars.

IL XT – Heg/Security

Space Leadership k2 national security and Hegemony

Stone 2011,( Christopher, policy analyst and strategist, “American leadership in space: leadership through capability” Mar. 14 http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1797/1)
Finally, one other issue that concerns me is the view of the world “hegemony” or “superiority” as dirty words. Some seem to view these words used in policy statements or speeches as a direct threat. In my view, each nation (should they desire) should have freedom of access to space for the purpose of advancing their “security, prestige and wealth” through exploration like we do. However, to maintain leadership in the space environment, space superiority is a worthy and necessary byproduct of the traditional leadership model. If your nation is the leader in space, it would pursue and maintain superiority in their mission sets and capabilities. In my opinion, space superiority does not imply a wall of orbital weapons preventing other nations from access to space, nor does it preclude international cooperation among friendly nations. Rather, it indicates a desire as a country to achieve its goals for national security, prestige, and economic prosperity for its people, and to be known as the best in the world with regards to space technology and astronautics. I can assure you that many other nations with aggressive space programs, like ours traditionally has been, desire the same prestige of being the best at some, if not all, parts of the space pie. Space has been characterized recently as “congested, contested, and competitive”; the quest for excellence is just one part of international space competition that, in my view, is a good and healthy thing. As other nations pursue excellence in space, we should take our responsibilities seriously, both from a national capability standpoint, and as country who desires expanded international engagement in space. If America wants to retain its true leadership in space, it must approach its space programs as the advancement of its national “security, prestige and wealth” by maintaining its edge in spaceflight capabilities and use those demonstrated talents to advance international prestige and influence in the space community. These energies and influence can be channeled to create the international space coalitions of the future that many desire and benefit mankind as well as America. Leadership will require sound, long-range exploration strategies with national and international political will behind it. American leadership in space is not a choice. It is a requirement if we are to truly lead the world into space with programs and objectives “worthy of a great nation”.
US Loosing Space Leadership-China will be on mars by 2013

Beckmann 2011 (Radio news talk show host at WJR-AM, July 8,“America takes giant step back in space race” http://detnews.com/article/20110708/OPINION03/107080319/America-takes-giant-step-back-in-space-race#ixzz1SaKSBHWy)
Today's scheduled final launch in America's space shuttle program marks the end of a remarkably successful era in U.S. achievement, and very likely, the beginning of Chinese dominance in space. President George W. Bush began the process of ending the shuttle launches, but he envisioned a new mission based on development of new rockets and craft for deep space missions and the exploration of Mars under a program called Constellation. President Barack Obama last year scrubbed that idea in favor of his own space vision for a landing on an unspecified asteroid by 2025 and a manned orbital mission around Mars by 2035. While NASA will be charged with planning those missions, minus up to 7,000 employees who are losing their jobs at the space agency as a result, interim space missions in low-Earth orbit will be turned over to private companies like Space X and Orbital Sciences. Conservatives would normally applaud a reduction in government employment, but NASA has done something that almost all government agencies have failed to do — it has created benefits for the American public at large. Tangible benefits NASA has produced a list of over 100 benefits to industry and the health of Americans as a result of the shuttle program alone. The list includes developments in 3-D biotechnology to seek cures for infectious diseases, pumps for artificial hearts, orthopedic artificial limbs, swifter diagnostics for the medical world, land mine disarming systems, extrication tools to help remove accident victims from wrecked vehicles, and computer joysticks, just to name a few. There is no preclusion from the creation of future useful benefits under Obama's new space initiatives but the timetable for their development has been moved decades down the road. Enter the Chinese While our space agency works toward the vague asteroid landing and Mars orbit goals, the International Space Station will become the domain of the Russians, who partnered in its development, and any future lunar colony plans will be left to the Chinese, who have moved headlong into the space race. The Chinese have announced short-term goals for extensive lunar exploration, a Mars orbital flight by 2013, and construction of their own space station by 2020.