*Missing report on disposal of unexploded ordinances COMMITTEE: Disarmament ISSUE: International Cooperation in Space KEY TERMS: International Space Station (ISS): The space station flies at an average altitude of 248 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth. It circles the globe every 90 minutes at a speed of about 17,500 mph (28,000 kph); Five different space agencies representing 15 countries built the $100-billion International Space Station and continue to operate it today. NASA, Russia's Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities (Roscosmos), the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency are the primary space agency partners on the project; This station has evolved from the Space Station Freedom initially proposed by NASA. Cooperation: The action or process of working together to the same end; Coming together to reach a common goal/outcome ISO (International Standard Organisation): An international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations; Set standards for international cooperation in space Space Shuttle: A rocket-launched spacecraft able to land like an unpowered aircraft, used to make repeated journeys between the earth and space Space Station: A large artificial satellite used as a long-term base for manned operations in space UN Space: Convenes for annual sessions to discuss current and future activities, emergent technologies of interest and other related matters among UN system entities. Space Law: The body of law governing space-related activities; Comprises a variety of international agreements, treaties, conventions, and United Nations General Assembly resolutions as well as rules and regulations of international organizations; Addresses a variety of matters, such as, the preservation of the space and Earth environment, liability for damages caused by space objects, the settlement of disputes, the rescue of
astronauts, the sharing of information about potential dangers in outer space, the use of space-related technologies, and international cooperation. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA): The world's largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession. MOST RELEVANT NATIONS TO THE ISSUE: International Cooperation in Space, is mainly managed through the International Space Station (ISS). Therefore, nations involved include: Japan: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency or JAXA, is Japan s national aerospace agency. JAXA was formed on October 1st, 2003, and is responsible for research, technology development, and the launch of satellites into orbit. Russian Federation: The Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities or Roscosmos, is the governmental body responsible for the space science program of Russia and general aerospace research. This corporation was established on the basis of the former Federal Space Agency on December 28, 2015. The Russian Space Agency is one of the partners in the International Space Station (ISS) program. It contributed the core space modules Zarya and Zvezda, which were both launched by Proton rockets and later were joined by NASA's Unity Module. The Rassvet module was launched aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis and will be primarily used for cargo storage and as a docking port for visiting spacecraft. The Nauka module is the last component of the ISS, launched in November 2015. United States: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA, is an independent agency part of the United States federal government, and responsible for the civilian space program and aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA was established in 1958 by then president, Dwight D. Eisenhower. NASA science is focused on better understanding Earth through the Earth Observing System, advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Research Program, exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic spacecraft missions such as New Horizons, and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the Great Observatories and associated programs. As well as Canada, and the eleven member states of the European Space Agency: France: The French Space program, organizes and controls both civil and military spaceflight activities. Germany: The German Aerospace Center or DLR, is the national center for aerospace energy and transportation research. The DLR is engaged in a wide range of research and development projects in national and international partnerships. In addition to conducting its own research projects, DLR is responsible for planning and implementing the German space programme on behalf of the German federal government.
United Kingdom: The British Space Programme or UK Space agency, is currently working to "win sustainable economic growth, secure new scientific knowledge and provide benefits to all citizens. As well as: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom. HISTORY: The International Space Station, launched in 1998, is considered to be the most ambitious international cooperation collaboration project ever attempted. Support for Space Station Freedom was, in part, a response to the Soviet space station, Mir. However, the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union happened just as work on Freedom began, leading to US concerns that Soviet space experts could soon be working for rogue states proliferating space technology to potential adversaries. In response to this concern, the Clinton administration began engaging Russia on cooperative space ventures, and the Space Shuttle began visiting Mir shortly after. After several successful Shuttle missions to Mir, Freedom was redesigned into the International Space Station (ISS), with Russia being brought into the partnership.the first module, Russia's Zarya module, launched in 1998. The station has been continuously occupied since Nov. 2, 2000. As for a timeline view about space exploration, the beginning of this new space-exploration era began on October 4, 1957, when the first artificial satellite Sputnik-1 was launched into Earth orbit by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Almost a month later, on November 3, 1957, Laila, the dog, orbits the Earth demonstrating that living beings can survive a rocket launch into outer space. Launched by the Soviet Union on 2 January 1959, Luna 1, also known as the "First Cosmic Rocket," became the first spacecraft to leave geocentric orbit and enter heliocentric orbit. In addition, Luna 1 provided the first ever direct observations and measurements of solarwinds. On April 12, 1961 Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth in "Vostok 1" becoming the world's first space explorer. Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov performs the first ever "spacewalk" on March 18, 1965. Leonov spends twelve minutes in the harsh vacuum of space before joining his crewmate Pavel Belyayev in the "Voskhod 2" spacecraft. On January 27, 1967, United States President Lyndon Johnson watches as Secretary of State Rusk signs the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, which entered into force on 10 October, 1967. However, this was just the beginning, and space exploration continues to grow.
CURRENT SITUATION: The International Space Station Program brings together international flight crews, multiple launch vehicles, globally distributed launch, operations, training, engineering, and development facilities; communications networks, and the international scientific research community. Elements launched from different countries and continents are not mated together until they reach orbit, and some elements that have been launched later in the assembly sequence were not yet built when the first elements were placed in orbit. Construction, assembly and operation of the International Space Station requires the support of facilities on the Earth managed by all of the international partner agencies and countries involved in the program. These include construction facilities, launch support and processing facilities, mission operations support facilities, research and technology development facilities and communications facilities. From a political point of view, the international working relationships built from the ISS programme have proven indispensable to constructing and sustaining the extraordinarily complex space station across nearly three decades. While there have been schedule slips due to funding or technical issues, the ISS has largely been built as envisaged. The ability to overcome these hurdles is in large part due to the greater programme stability that international cooperation provides. The experience shared by all members of the ISS has further solidified the notion that as modern space programme goals become more sophisticated, the need for international partnerships is essential to success no matter how advanced any singular space faring nation is today. As the US seeks ways to work with rapidly developing countries and newly emerging democracies in the Middle East, space cooperation can be an important vehicle for opening dialogue and collaboratively working on a project of high visibility. Fledgling space programmes in countries as diverse as Brazil, India and South Korea are potential new partners for international collaborative efforts in human exploration. The time to begin a new international exploration partnership is now. NASA (the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has already begun discussions with potential international exploration partners regarding future roles in a human exploration plan. However, achieving a true exploration partnership will take years, as it did with the ISS. Three important reasons why nations should cooperate in space exploration are to save money, diplomatic prestige, and workforce stability. As per-partner cost decreases, per-partner utility increases. Space exploration has proven to be an expensive activity. Indeed, the more that any given administration and Congress must spend to maintain and/or expand the functionality of a program like the ISS, the less utility will be derived.
Therefore, a nation will have an incentive to engage in international cooperation when doing so can reduce that nation s costs. This is particularly true for nations whose space exploration budget is insufficient to execute their space exploration goals. Partnerships in space exploration, can help increase how different Nations are viewed. For example, Indian participation in joint space exploration would send a strong signal to the world of good U.S.-Indian relations. This would simultaneously increase Indian prestige by demonstrating their technological prowess. Similarly, Chinese participation in joint space exploration would signal growing cooperation between the two nations. The use of the ISS for a partnership between either of these nations would drastically increase its utility to those who support friendly relations. The Space Shuttle and ISS programs employ workers across the country and serve as a source of revenue to the districts of many members of Congress. The program also employs enough people to attract the attention of the president. The loss of these jobs and revenue streams would constitute a large loss in utility for both the administration and Congress. As more nations come together, to explore space, and more projects come forth, more engineers and scientist and researchers will be needed in order to carry out these tasks, thus increasing the number of jobs available to citizens. Starting in 2015, changes to the ISS were performed to prepare the complex for crewed commercial spacecraft, which will begin arriving as early as 2017. Two international docking adapters will be added to the station. Additionally, an inflatable module from Bigelow Aerospace is scheduled to arrive in 2016. In the last ten years NASA has carried out more than 900 agreements with 68 countries. Current plans call for the space station to be operated through at least 2020. NASA has requested an extension until 2024. Discussions to extend the space station's lifetime are ongoing among all international partners; several countries, such as Canada, Russia and Japan, have expressed their support for extending the station's operations. Currently, NASA is hoping to make a change from space station to deep-space missions. In order to do this, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden says that the international community has a choice of whether or not they want to do this alone or together. Bolden's prime example of the power of collaboration was the international cooperation that has helped maintain a human presence on the ISS for 15 years. There's a growing debate over whether China and the Unites States should cooperate in space. There has been an ongoing discussion between the two powers, but progress is reported to be halted by the White House. Meanwhile, the Chinese space program is pressing forward with its own "long march" into space, with the goal of establishing its own space station in the 2020s. John Logsdon, professor of political science and
international affairs at The George Washington University s SPace Policy Institute said, "The first step is the White House working with congressional leadership to get current, unwise restrictions on such cooperation revoked. Then, the United States can invite China to work together with the United States and other spacefaring countries on a wide variety of space activities and, most dramatically, human spaceflight."
COMMITTEE: Disarmament ISSUE: Weaponised drones and drone strikes KEY TERMS: 1. Military Drones: Manless aircrafts that work with a GPS system that are used to take out specific individuals, or spy on countries. 2. Foreign Policy: a government s strategy to cope with other governments. 3. Casualty: A person injured in war or accident. 4. GPS: stands for Global Positioning System, which relates to where your exact location is. 5. Satellite: a machine located in the Earth s orbit to collect information on communications. MOST RELEVANT NATIONS TO THE ISSUE: United States Israel United Kingdom Pakistan Iraq Nigeria Iran Turkey. HISTORY: Drones, or military drones, have been dated back to 1849 when the Austrians flew manless balloons that carried bombs into the city of Venice. Since then, they have become a lot more sophisticated, from the hand thrown Raven to the Global Hawk, described as an albino whale for its size. The purpose for the use of military drones is to target specific individuals as opposed to large groups. These are used mainly to kill an opponent without suffering any military casualties. They are controlled through GPS locations sent to satellites where the military drones then access to know where it is supposed to go. The real technological military drones were first invented by the
government of the United States of America. They were not planning on using them until the 9/11 attack from Al Qaeda. Since then, military drone programs run by governments and companies have increased drastically, from 195 in 2005 to 680 in 2011. The problem with these drones is not whether it is morally correct to kill these so called terrorists, but the casualties that the drones cause apart from the terrorists. CURRENT SITUATION: They are been used in countries like Israel, Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq to get rid of muslim terrorists, but there are several civilian casualties that are been caused by the drones as well. The United States have used these military drones about 500 times in 2015 killing around 3,922 people. Most of these have been happening in Pakistan. The main question with these is: should they be legal or illegal in international warfare? That is up to every country, as there are some countries that have been using them for several years, and others who are disgusted by the use of it. ISIS have also been known to get their hands on them. As military drones also include UAVs ( unmanned aerial vehicle) for surveillance. An Iraqi soldier claimed to shoot on down pertaining to ISIS. The UK is launching several drone attacks on ISIS as well. The use of these surveillance drones is rapidly increasing, especially in the countries Syria and Iraq. The proliferation of military drones is causing modern battles to be more sophisticated. The other problem with weaponized drones is that it is humanizing As countries such as China and Russia begin to enlarge their naval force, the United States has began to gain a huge advantage over the all other countries by creating programs of underwater drones. Drones will now not only be used in the sky, but they will also be used through water surfaces.