[SUBMITTED] Spacing Out On Space Debris

[Ransium]

I decided to break up my original satellite idea into two separate issues. Here's the second in my "Space is a Dangerous Place" mini-series

Other title ideas:
Spacing Out on Debris
Space Debris Coast to Coast
The Incredible Lightness of Zero-G Garbage

[title]Spacing Out On Space Debris

[desc]Two decommissioned satellites recently collided, @@NAME@@'s @@ANIMAL@@-4 and East Lebatuck's Sputnak-3. In the aftermath, scientists have become alarmed over the possibility of collosional cascading, a phenomenon where the density of debris in space becomes so high that collisions become common, further creating debris. Using crayons and peanut butter, your aides have convinced you that this positive feedback loop could ultimately destroy all low earth orbit satellites and make space travel impossible for generations.

[validity]must be space active nation

[option]"I have a bad feeling about this," warns famously handsome astronaut, Lieutenant George Kloonalski, "it's the same feeling I once had on space walk while repairing a satellite, and that did not end up going well. But I don't want to bore you with my space stories, the point is reforms are desperately needed to make sure collisional cascading does not happen. Mandating every satellite launched in @@NAME@@ is heavily regulated to reduce space debris during launch and operation, as well as having a plan for satellite disposal at mission's end, would be major steps in the right direction. Given the gravity of the situation, I think these regulations increasing satellites' cost are well worth it."
[effect]satellite launches have become uncommon due to burdensome regulations

[option]"But East Lebatuck started it!" whines @@RANDOMNAME@@, one of your more petulant advisers. "@@ANIMAL@@-4 was just fine until that stupid Sputnak-3 hit it. We shouldn't have to do anything until East Lebatuck takes steps to clean up their mess and make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again."
[effect]half of @@NAME@@ just lost Myface after space debris collided with a major communications satellite

[option]"I'm shocked to say, I actually kind of agree with those sentiments." remakes high level diplomat Carry Fissinger, known for space shuttle diplomacy. "Taking unilateral action is futile if other space-fairing nations do not also act in kind. We need to immediately launch an international space debris summit to assure that all nations, not just @@NAME@@, properly regulate launched satellites. With the entire international community united financially, we could even launch missions to remove existing debris with nets and lasers. These debris need to be thought of not only as a challenge, but an opportunity to build international good will."
[effect]satellites are damaged by debris daily while the international community painstakingly debates the minutia of cleanup strategies

[Tinhampton]

the other from East Lebuckte

Shouldn't that be East Lebatuck?

[Australian rePublic]

Nice issue

But, the first option a man going out with a woman at Mardi Gras, uh, Mardi Gras is an annual gay parade, so shouldn't it be a man going out with a man?

Also, there needs to be some radical proposal to move the Earth out of the orbit of space debris

[Drasnia]

But, the first option a man going out with a woman at Mardi Gras, uh, Mardi Gras is an annual gay parade, so shouldn't it be a man going out with a man?

Uh, what? Mardi Gras is just New Orleans' Carnival.

EDIT: After wikipedia'ing it, Australia's "Mardi Gras" is a Gay and Lesbian version of the event. Weird.

[Ransium]

[title]Spacing Out On Debris

[desc]Two decommissioned satellites collided, one from @@NAME@@, the other from East Lebatuck. In the aftermath, scientists have become alarmed over the possibility of collosional cascading, or when the density of debris in space increases to the point where collisions become common, creating a domino effect of debris and collisions until all near earth satellites are destroyed and space travel is made impossible for generations from the resultant debris field.

[validity]must be space active nation

[option]"I have a bad feeling about this," warns Lieutenant George Kloonalski, an astronaut famous for his extended time in space and perchance for story telling, "it the same feeling I had when I was at in Mardi gra in my 20's. You see I had gotten separated from this girl I was kind of seeing at the time, and when I finally caught her I realized that she was holding hands with another boy. Just when I was going to slug the long haired freak I realized that he was actually... Anyway, that's not the point, the point is reforms are desperately needed to make sure collisional cascading does not happen. Mandating every launched satellite in @@NAME@@ has an end of life plan and @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ Aeronautics and Space Administration immediately start leading missions to clean up existing debris with nets and lasers would be major strides in the right direction. None of it will be cheap, but the potential for disaster is too great to do anything less."
[effect]billions of @@currencyplural@@ are spent on making sure no screws are loose in space

[option]"But East Lebatuck started it!" whines @@RANDOMNAME@@, one of your more petulant advisers. "Our satellite was just fine until that stupid East Lebatuck satellite hit it first. You know they probably meant for this to happen. We shouldn't do anything until East Lebatuck takes steps to clean up their mess and make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again."
[effect]half of @@NAME@@ just lost Myface after space debris collided with a communications satellite

[option]"I'm shocked to say, I actually kind of agree with those sentiments," remakes Carry Fissinger a high level diplomatic negotiator, "taking unilateral action without international agreement is likely to be ultimately futile if other nations do not also act in kind. We need to convene an international space debris conference posthaste to hammer out a point-by-point international agreement on the matter. Only then can we proceed in a united and truly effective manner."
[effect]satellites are damaged by debris daily while the international community painstakingly debates effective mitigation

the other from East Lebuckte

Shouldn't that be East Lebatuck?

Fixed!

Nice issue

But, the first option a man going out with a woman at Mardi Gras, uh, Mardi Gras is an annual gay parade, so shouldn't it be a man going out with a man?

Here is what is being referenced:

http://gravitymovie.wikia.com/wiki/Kowa ... Gras_Story

I'm not sure what the best way to deal with the conflicting reference/cultural difference with Australia. I would love suggestions.

As for moving the earth i wouldn't be against an additional crazy solution, but that seems over the top even as far as crazy solutions go to me.

[Trotterdam]

If the accident was a collision between your nation's and East Lebatuck's satellites, a likely cause to finger would be lack of communication between your respective space agencies. Both of you thought your orbit was safe because you didn't know the other nation's satellite was there.

(As a side note, I don't like playing East Lebatuck as too antagonistic. Their defining feature is that they're communist, which would logically put them at odds with many nations, but it's quite possible for player nations to be communist too, in which case East Lebatuck would make natural allies. Though I guess in this issue you're presenting @@NAME@@ as being antagonistic to East Lebatuck more than the other way around...)

As for moving the earth i wouldn't be against an additional crazy solution, but that seems over the top even as far as crazy solutions go to me.

Y...yeah.

[Ransium]

If the accident was a collision between your nation's and East Lebatuck's satellites, a likely cause to finger would be lack of communication between your respective space agencies. Both of you thought your orbit was safe because you didn't know the other nation's satellite was there.

(As a side note, I don't like playing East Lebatuck as too antagonistic. Their defining feature is that they're communist, which would logically put them at odds with many nations, but it's quite possible for player nations to be communist too, in which case East Lebatuck would make natural allies. Though I guess in this issue you're presenting @@NAME@@ as being antagonistic to East Lebatuck more than the other way around...)

The accident was actually somewhat a reference to this, where the cause was actually just a miscalculation and the sheer magnitude of stuff in low earth orbit. I didn't spell that out in the description because doing so seemed too wordy.

I honestly think I'm being pretty fair to East Lebatuck in this issue. Only the character in two blames them and I'm heavily implying he is just childishly avoiding responsibility. I mean two satellites hit each other, it's pretty silly to put all the blame on one. I think most players, particularly ones not inclined to be hostile with East Lebatuck will be able to read that into the option, and act accordingly.

[Trotterdam]

On further consideration, I think my main problem is with option 3. It says "hammer out a point-by-point international agreement" but is rather vague about what such an agreement would entail. I think it would be stronger if it were more pro-active about what you are planning to demand of other space-faring nations (while also offering the same in return). Otherwise, it feels like a wishy-washy do-nothing option, so your only options are either make another country take full responsibility or take full responsibility yourself for something that, realistically, actually does require cooperation to address.

I note that option 1 includes two different solutions, one preventive (mandating every launched satellite has an end-of-life plan) and one restorative (missions to clean up existing debris with nets and lasers)... and I can't help but note that while the latter could also let you clean up messes created by other nations if you're willing to pay for it, the former can only be done by the nation that actually owns the satellite.

[Drayxaso]

This looks like a pretty good issue. I'm glad to see more space issue drafts, and Kessler effect is always a good topic.

I think that the typical "Military... in SPAAAACE" option would do well here. You could have a general--perhaps enraged by what he sees as the "East Lebucktese destruction of one of @@NAME@@'s satellites"--suggest sending weapons platforms up and pretending they're for cleanup of orbital debris, but also using them to discreetly attack enemy spy satellites.

Also, I'd suggest calling the East Lebucktese satellite "Sputnak 3" or something. Having more puns for spacecraft is always fun, and it builds the universe of NS somewhat.

[Ransium]

Based on CWA comments on my Climate Change issue I'm a bit concerned that 3 might have a similar problem of stepping too much into the WAs territory. Maybe a re-write where 2 involves eliminating other nations problem satellites for them. 3 could be some more specific but also maybe not as official diplomacy option. I really wanted to keep the effect of half @@NAME@@ loosing myface, so maybe having 4 be insisting the problem is overblown and too expensive to do anything about.

[Caracasus]

You might be interested in this:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/s ... oons-nets/

It manages to be both RL and silly sounding enough to be perfect for NS as well. Plus it makes me picture astronauts going out with fishing nets and harpoons, which would make a great effect line....

[Ransium]

I've just posted a new draft that is meant to address Trotterdam's points, add humor, and brevity. I removed the Mardi Gras reference to avoid confusion for our friends down under. After careful consideration, I've decided to reject a military option as, as Trotterdam has pointed out, there are already quite a few military/space related issues. Further comments and feedback would be appreciated

[Trotterdam]

[option]"I have a bad feeling about this," warns Lieutenant George Kloonalski, a famously handsome astronaut with a penchant for story telling, "it's the same feeling I had when I was at concert in my 20's. You see I was looking for a girl I was kind of seeing at the time, and when I finally caught up to her I realized that she was holding hands with another boy. Just when I was going to slug the long haired freak I realized that he was actually... Anyway, that's not the point, the point is reforms are desperately needed to make sure collisional cascading does not happen. Mandating every satellite launched in @@NAME@@ is heavily regulated to reduce space debris during launch and operation, as well as having a plan for satellite disposal at mission's end would be major steps in the right direction. It'll increase the cost of launching satellites a fair bit, but making space safe is well worth it."

So, I get that it's a reference, but you're spending almost half of the option text on something that's completely irrelevant to the topic (not just a non-answer to the current problem, but has nothing to do with space at all). A reference isn't worth that much.

Also, put a comma after "mission's end", to properly close the aside opened by "as well as".

[effect]satellites are damaged by debris daily while the international community painstakingly debates the minutia of clean up strategies[/box]

"Clean-up".

Maybe even "cleanup".

[Ransium]

*snip*

I had been worrying about the same thing. I changed it to a much more direct and short gravity reference, and fixed other corrections.

How do folks feel about this issue now?

[Drayxaso]

*snip*

I had been worrying about the same thing. I changed it to a much more direct and short gravity reference, and fixed other corrections.

How do folks feel about this issue now?

Add a pun to the first option mentioning "the gravity of the situation." It'll be glorious.

[Ransium]

Add a pun to the first option mentioning "the gravity of the situation." It'll be glorious.

Your wish is my command.

[Drayxaso]

Add a pun to the first option mentioning "the gravity of the situation." It'll be glorious.

Your wish is my command.

Wonderful.

[Outer Sparta]

I like this issue. It's also nice to see more drafts about space.

[Volitopia]

Awesome! Great to see issues being made on space; as the issues feed is (in my opinion as a space enthusiast) a bit dry in matters of space exploration.

I think that the typical "Military... in SPAAAACE" option would do well here. You could have a general--perhaps enraged by what he sees as the "East Lebucktese destruction of one of @@NAME@@'s satellites"--suggest sending weapons platforms up and pretending they're for cleanup of orbital debris, but also using them to discreetly attack enemy spy satellites.

This would also work quite well with the issue (got to have that one crazy answer )
But for the result I think it should be more like "@NATION@ is the only country remaining with functioning satellites"

[Ransium]

After giving it some thought I don't see how I can write up a military option. I just don't see why dealing with derelict satellites and taking out other nations working satellites would be connected. I also looked through the existing space issues and its really true almost every one has a military aspect to it already. If someone really wants a military option they can write one up and I'll consider including it with my own modificaions (I'll probably submit this in around ~5 days), but I certainly don't have the inspiration needed to write it myself.

[Trotterdam]

Honestly, any military option would make things worse. The military has a knack for blowing things into tiny pieces, after all. Aggressively deorbiting an uncooperative satellite safely would be considerably harder than just blowing it up, which is already fairly hard.

You could invade other nations over land to destroy their space launch facilities, but that's rather over-the-top, and only loosely connected to the subject. It would satisfy the objective of messing up everything except space, though!

[Ransium]

Indeed, this is one of the biggest source of space debris IRL.

[Ransium]

Further comments on this one as well? Otherwise I will submit it in the next ~24-48 hours too...

[Australian rePublic]

[title]Spacing Out On Debris

[desc]Two decommissioned satellites collided, one from @@NAME@@, the other from East Lebatuck. In the aftermath, scientists have become alarmed over the possibility of collosional cascading, or when the density of debris in space increases to the point where collisions become common, creating a domino effect of debris and collisions until all near earth satellites are destroyed and space travel is made impossible for generations from the resultant debris field.

[validity]must be space active nation

[option]"I have a bad feeling about this," warns Lieutenant George Kloonalski, an astronaut famous for his extended time in space and perchance for story telling, "it the same feeling I had when I was at in Mardi gra in my 20's. You see I had gotten separated from this girl I was kind of seeing at the time, and when I finally caught her I realized that she was holding hands with another boy. Just when I was going to slug the long haired freak I realized that he was actually... Anyway, that's not the point, the point is reforms are desperately needed to make sure collisional cascading does not happen. Mandating every launched satellite in @@NAME@@ has an end of life plan and @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ Aeronautics and Space Administration immediately start leading missions to clean up existing debris with nets and lasers would be major strides in the right direction. None of it will be cheap, but the potential for disaster is too great to do anything less."
[effect]billions of @@currencyplural@@ are spent on making sure no screws are loose in space

[option]"But East Lebatuck started it!" whines @@RANDOMNAME@@, one of your more petulant advisers. "Our satellite was just fine until that stupid East Lebatuck satellite hit it first. You know they probably meant for this to happen. We shouldn't do anything until East Lebatuck takes steps to clean up their mess and make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again."
[effect]half of @@NAME@@ just lost Myface after space debris collided with a communications satellite

[option]"I'm shocked to say, I actually kind of agree with those sentiments," remakes Carry Fissinger a high level diplomatic negotiator, "taking unilateral action without international agreement is likely to be ultimately futile if other nations do not also act in kind. We need to convene an international space debris conference posthaste to hammer out a point-by-point international agreement on the matter. Only then can we proceed in a united and truly effective manner."
[effect]satellites are damaged by debris daily while the international community painstakingly debates effective mitigation

Shouldn't that be East Lebatuck?

Fixed!

Nice issue

But, the first option a man going out with a woman at Mardi Gras, uh, Mardi Gras is an annual gay parade, so shouldn't it be a man going out with a man?

Here is what is being referenced:

http://gravitymovie.wikia.com/wiki/Kowa ... Gras_Story

I'm not sure what the best way to deal with the conflicting reference/cultural difference with Australia. I would love suggestions.

As for moving the earth i wouldn't be against an additional crazy solution, but that seems over the top even as far as crazy solutions go to me.

How about suggestions