Ender Space Settlement Design Contest. 2014-2015 Kelly DeRees David Sugg Special Note

14.8: Defense of the Ender settlement and its population (internal and external)

14.8.1: Police Defense: A moderate police force will be responsible for general enforcement of laws within the space settlement. This police force will patrol and monitor various public areas and determine whether or not any suspicious activity is present or if any rule violations occur. Along with emergency response personnel such as firefighters, the police will accompany and assist in emergency situations and assist in the protection of individuals, whether that is based on a health emergency or any other issue. The police force does not have the right to search individual “living habitats” on the segmented outermost personnel ring without a search warrant that is issued based on distinct suspicion of dangerous or criminal activity. The police force will address minor to moderate crimes such as infractions and misdemeanors. An infraction is “the violation of an administrative regulation, an ordinance, a municipal code, and, in some jurisdictions, a state or local traffic rule” (“Infractions,” 2013). A misdemeanor, “a criminal offense that is less serious than a felony and more serious than an infraction, is generally punishable by a fine or incarceration in a local jail, or both” (“Misdemeanors,” 2013). Any criminal activity more serious will be dealt with by Special Operations forces.

14.8.2: Special Operations Forces: Individuals who commit crimes on the level of a felony, for example “terrorism, treason, arson, murder, rape, robbery, burglary, and kidnapping,” are dealt with by Special Operations forces that act as a policing force for high-risk criminals as well as a quasi-military to defend against larger scale attacks by people on board the settlement, for example (“Felonies,” 2013). Most felony committers will be sent off of the settlement to Earth because they are a risk to the safety and well-being of the settlement structure and its inhabitants. The Special Operations forces will consist of numerous small teams lead by individual commanding officers. The entire force will be lead by a commander that organizes operations on a larger scale. The Special Operations forces have access to firearms in armories of limited quantity. Since firearms are prohibited on board the settlement (security checks are made when cargo is brought to the station’s hangar), use of firearms by Special Operations forces should be limited due to the high risks of bullets puncturing station component walls which would cause rapid decompression. Alternatives such as physical suppression will be employed more often.

14.8.3: Jailing System: Structures similar to jails will be constructed on board the settlement. Individuals that are jailed have most likely committed a misdemeanor or are there because of moderate suspicions. These jails will be guarded by security staff appointed by the standard police force on board the settlement. Individuals who commit felonies or are a serious danger to the settlement will reside in the jails only as long as it takes for transportation from the station to Earth to be arranged.

14.8.4: Asteroid and Debris Defense: The observatories on the outside of Ender will be used to track space debris to prevent impacts. Because an impact could cause severe structural damage and depressurization, tracking debris is critical to public safety and defense of Ender. The same observatories are also used to track asteroids for mining. For more information about mining, see the Mining section. Most man-made space debris lies in geo-synchronous orbit of Earth, which is much closer to the planet than Ender is. Therefore, most space debris that would pose a danger to Ender will be meteors and other rocky objects.

14.8.5: Systems security forces: Special security forces will be tasked with the protection of rooms and structures that are involved in the control of key settlement systems. These security forces will always be present in and around structures of this classification. Systems that these security forces will guard and protect include:

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  Ring Rotational Control systems (engines that will change the speed the rings spin at, thus, altering the amount of artificial gravity that is generated.
  
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  Hangar Air Lock systems (the opening and closing of hangar airlock doors)
  
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  Emergency lifeboat habitat arming systems (systems that can initiate the start-up procedures and life-support systems) on emergency lifeboat habitats.
  
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  Navigation systems that can gradually adjust the position of the entire settlement.
  
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  Life-support systems
  
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  Elevator Transfer Room operating systems
  

14.8.5: Distribution of authority among Ring Rotational Control systems, Emergency lifeboat arming systems and Navigation systems: Inputs and changes in these systems cannot be made unless certain procedures are followed.

1). 14.8.5.1: Rotational Control Systems: When a decision is made to change the rotational speed of the settlement’s rings, a procedure somewhat similar to launching nuclear missiles from land or a submarine is undertaken. In the case of this design, once a rotational speed change has been announced to the population, three keys will need to be inserted into a control panel and turned in order for one person to initiate the ignition of the rotational engines to change the rotational speed of the rings. Three individuals, the Executive of the settlement, the chief of settlement rotation and navigation, and the second-in-command to the chief of settlement rotation and navigation, will each have access to one of the three keys which are stored in three separate safes that are located in an area. Each individual only knows the combination for one safe, thus, they can only access one of the three keys. Once each individual has their key, they must all insert their key into a control surface and turn their key. They do not have to turn their keys at the exact same time; however, the key holes are spring loaded so that each of the three individuals must hold their keys in place at the same time to initiate the next phase of operations. The key holes are positioned far enough so that no single individual can reach over and turn two keys at the same time. After all three keys are turned, the chief of settlement rotation and navigation must enter a code that only he or she knows. This ensures that if any of the three individuals have their keys forcibly removed and turned, then the chief of settlement rotation and navigation has the power to prevent the process from proceeding any further by not disclosing their code. After this code is entered, the chief of settlement rotation and navigation and his team can ignite the rotational control engines and change the speed the rings are spinning at.

If the Executive of the settlement is incapacitated, is unable to travel to the control centers, or in the instance that the structural integrity of the settlement is compromised due to some extreme emergency and the Executive refuses to turn his key, then one advisor to the Executive has the authority to open an additional fourth safe that contains a unique combination lock that only the advisor can open. However the key is the same as the Executive’s key and this advisor takes the places of the executive.

These extreme precautions are taken to avoid sabotage of the entire settlement, changing the artificial gravity, or terrorist access to rotation system controls. This system is loosely based on the nuclear missile launch protocol (Ingersoll, 2013).

2. 
   14.8.5.2: Navigation systems: The procedures described above also apply to any decision to
   

alter the orbit and location of the settlement in space.

2. 
   14.8.5.3: Emergency Lifeboat arming systems (only applies to the arming of all lifeboats at the same time on board the settlement):
   

The Emergency Lifeboat arming system protocol is similar to the procedures described above. However, in this case, only two individuals are required to turn keys to approve the decision to arm all emergency lifeboats on board the board the settlement. If only a group lifeboats need to be armed, emergency systems teams can send commands without any complex protocols. In the case of arming all lifeboats, the Executive and the chief of evacuation operations must take their respective keys from two separate safes. Each individual knows the combination to only one safe. Once the Executive and chief of evacuation operations turn their keys in the same environment as described in the “Rotational Control Systems” section, the chief of evacuation operations can enter his or her personal code that will provide access to the arming systems.

Again, if the Executive is incapacitated, is unable to access the control centers, or refuses to turn his key when the settlement is obviously a complete loss, then an advisor, different from the advisor that can take the place of the executive in rotational speed changes and navigation changes, will have the authority to access a third safe that has a unique combination that only he or she knows. This safe will contain the same key that is in the Executive’s safe so that the process can be successfully carried out.

NOTE:

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  If the chosen advisors attempt to access their key in a situation that is not explicitly mentioned above, then they will be criminally prosecuted.
  
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  The “chiefs” of various systems are provided the final code to initiate any system changes because they are specialists in their field and will understand the real needs of the settlement from an engineering and safety standpoint.
  

14.9: Taxation

Taxation will play a role in both internal settlement affairs as well as in the relationship between the settlement and Earth. Taxes will provide revenue to the settlement but also a benefit for Earth, which initially had to spend enormous amounts of money to construct the settlement.

Originally, the United States would have provided initial funding and resources for the construction of the settlement only if it saw some sort of long-term future benefits. One of these benefits is providing tax revenue to the United States. Firstly, all income that the settlement and its various businesses make, as a result of tourism from Earth, will be taxed. This tourism income tax will be paid to Earth (the United States), because it is U.S. citizens that are spending their financial resources on the settlement when visiting. Another way the United States can receive tax revenue is through an income tax on all exported products, when the settlement eventually gets to the point that it can produce its own supplies and a surplus of goods. When the United States buys goods from the settlement, various businesses will make an income. That income will be taxed and that taxed money will go to the United States, thus, providing another source of revenue.

There are also taxes that are for uses on board the settlement. The settlement requires its own tax revenue for various internal uses. The first type of tax that will be implemented is the income tax. The income tax will be a fixed percentage and there will be no tax brackets. In the United States, tax brackets range from paying 10% of an income to 39.6% based on how much income one makes (“Tax Brackets,” 2015). In the case of the space settlement, the population will pay a fixed income tax rate of 8%, regardless of their income size. The second type of tax that will be implemented on the settlement is a sales and services tax. This tax will apply to various goods such as clothing, food, electronics, etc. and to services such as “house” cleaning and health service. The tax will be 8% of the price of the good or service. For example, if a shirt costs $15, then the sales/services tax will be $1.20. Therefore, the customer would pay $16.20 for the shirt. The third type of tax that will be used on the settlement is a small tax paid with the bills of various utilities such as electricity and water. Users will pay a 2% tax that is2% f their bill payments. This insures that the organizations that run these utilities can make a profit but can contribute money towards infrastructure development. The final tax is the business income tax which is a 10% tax charged on the income businesses make from their sales. The money businesses make will go to their own development, maintenance, supplies, wages, the 10% tax, and the income of the business owner or owners.

The purpose of these numerous taxes within the settlement is to provide revenue and funds for spending on infrastructure development, station maintenance, various settlement operations such as mining, and to pay numerous wages which may be tied to the government in some way or may be paid directly to those working on infrastructure development, etc. Tax revenue will support many operations and the continued development of the settlement.

14.9.1: Crew of Spacecraft

The Spaceflight Operations Commander is the top leadership person of spaceflight operations.  The Commander manages and is aware of the location and status of all spaceflight-capable vessels including personnel ferry spacecraft, cargo vessels, mining ships, and unmanned robotic spacecraft.  The Commander is aware of all maintenance needs for each type of spacecraft.  The Spaceflight Operations Commander also manages flight operations, and can permit or prevent flights.  The Commander manages all flight officers (captains and lieutenants) and all trained pilots.  The Commander can promote individuals to captains or lieutenants and can also take away the title in the case that the captain or other officer is deemed unfit for duty. The commander will periodically evaluate all flight officers and pilots in order to verify that they are still qualified and are well-trained in their area through various area-specific knowledge tests and simulator tests. In addition to this, all officers and pilots will undergo periodic health examinations.

The term “Captain” refers to the commanding officer and pilot of all personnel transportation spacecraft. A trained pilot cannot command a vessel that carries civilian passengers. A Captain can also operate the largest cargo and mining vessels; however, his or her primary job will be operating personnel carrying spacecraft. Captains will also pilot spacecraft that are carrying high ranking officials from the station such as the Executive. Captains can only be chosen and given their rank by the Spaceflight Operations Commander.

A minimum of one lieutenant will always be with a Captain but there can be up to two on larger vessels. Their primary job is to manage onboard navigation and auxiliary functions aboard various spacecraft. However, they are also trained pilots and in the case of an emergency, they can replace the Captain. A lieutenant may only be qualified in the systems of one spacecraft; thus, they will be assigned according to their qualifications. The Spaceflight Operations Commander or a Captain can choose to promote a trained pilot to the rank of lieutenant. A lieutenant can then be promoted to a Captain by the Spaceflight Operations Commander.

The trained pilots are considered to be the workhorses of the settlement. They fly the majority of cargo and manned mining spacecraft and are permitted to pilot small spacecraft that can carry several scientists or engineers as well as officers. However, they cannot pilot vessels that carry personnel that do not fit the presented categories. Two pilots will fly larger cargo and mining spacecraft in the instance one pilot becomes incapacitated. Single pilots of smaller capsules can take engineers and scientists to mining sites, for example. When off duty, pilots will live on board the personnel segmented ring but will be evenly spaced in order for them to pilot emergency lifeboat habitats in the case of an emergency. Only if an emergency occurs can pilots fly a spacecraft, in this case the lifeboat, with civilians.

The Chief of Settlement Rotation and Navigation is the commanding officer for all rotational speed and navigational operations. The Chief of Settlement Rotation and Navigation appoints an extensive team that assists in all operations under his or her orders. The procedures for changes in navigation and rotational speed are described in the “Society Defense” section of the report.

Finally, unmanned robotic vessel operators are individuals trained in sending commands and in operating various unmanned spacecraft that will be utilized by the station, primarily unmanned mining spacecraft. They operate these spacecraft remotely from the settlement. The robotic vessel operators are not qualified to pilot any manned spacecraft.

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