NASA to formulate asteroid defense plan

Congress cites NASA 's “unique competence” to deal with hazard

By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer

Updated: 1:30 p.m. MT June 28, 2006

VAIL, Colo. - NASA has begun a fact-finding appraisal of how best to detect, track, catalog and characterize near-Earth asteroids and comets — and what can be done to deflect an object found on course to strike our planet.

The need to prepare is being highlighted this week as astronomers watch a large asteroid that will pass close to Earth on July 3.

Experts from a variety of fields are here this week at a NASA workshop on "Near-Earth Object Detection, Characterization and Threat Mitigation." The meeting is a unique, “idea gathering” event being carried out under direction of Congress. The intent is to provide lawmakers with an “executable program” — but also one that will clearly need funds to implement that program in an orderly and timely fashion.

NASA is on a fast track to give Congress an initial report by year’s end that will include an analysis of possible alternatives for diverting an object on a likely collision course with Earth.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13595568/

asteroid defense plan. Some nations are expected to pitch a fit. Some nations will be asked to leave and find another planet to live on. Story at 11.

Bruce Willis ?

We will be hit again at some point in time if we don't make plans now.

Electrogravitics
http://jnaudin.free.fr/html/lifters.htm

Cold Fusion
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7654627

Hydrogen Technologies
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.04/hydrogen_pr.html

need to expand--resulting in either 1.exploration & colonization, or 2. war.
I'm sure this isn't original, but I don't recall any source. I was hopeful about the international space station during the Clinton years, but oh well.

Come on you know Bushler asked that.

that asshole chimp.

In the early seventies I saw a fireball enter the atmosphere, burning a brilliant blue for several seconds, then marching across the sky, disappearing behind Deer Point, reappearing, then disappearing again behind Shafer Butte. These are the peaks that define the eastern ridge of the Boise foothills, and which contain the Bogus Basin ski area. Astronomy Magazine reported the incident as "Cosmic Boulder Skims Rockies". The object skimmed Earth's atmosphere and retained enough energy to escape Earth's gravity, according to the above article (sorry, no archived article available).

Not a half-mile rock, but that's a close shave.

They had a picture of it streaking through the sky in my physics book. I think the pic was taken in Colorado. It was used as an example of kinetic energy.

No missiles to launch nuclear warheads until it's far to late to destroy or divert. No spaceships to burrow an H-bomb to the core. No lasers. Nothing. We'd be so screwed. Back to chipping arrowheads out of flint and cave paintings.

Arthur C. Clarke wrote about this in "Hammer of God", and Larry Niven covered this in "Lucifer's Hammer".

which way they are pointing.

If they are serious about it, we should immediately start working on the space elevator. Once we get that up and running, we can easily build either a giant laser or an electromagnetic railgun on the moon. Built the laser on the far side so it can't be used against us, or build the railgun or Gauss gun so it points parallel to the moon's orbit so it can't be pointed at us.

The laser would enable us to melt the approaching asteroid, or possibly push it off course enough to miss us from light pressure. The railgun could be used to launch ultra-high-speed projectiles to collide with the asteroid and either break it up, burrow in a nuke, or divert it's course enough to miss us.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun#Railguns_as_weapons
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coilgun

But first we have to alleviate the suffering of the super-wealthy to have to pay nearly a third of their taxable income of millions of dollars AND we have to crush our great-grandchildren with unimaginable debt.

By heating just one side, the comet will vent more and change its course. Keep the laser on it for months and you'll completely change its course.

Nuclear deflection is probably the best option for solid rock asteroids. The explosion would vaporize much of the dirt on the surface of the asteroid, giving it a "push". Realistically though, an effective deflection would probably require numerous detonations.

The big problem is that many asteroids don't fit either of these descriptions. There are plenty of comets that have rocks in them, and asteroids built from rubble, that will be completely undaunted by either of these approaches.

if you're not rich?

I'm surprised I haven't seen that one pop up again.

But I do recommend heavy investment in a squadron of mutant flying pigs to eat any threatening asteroid.

And Defense contracts.

The railgun and coilgun can also launch unmanned space probes, colonization equipment, and supplies. The lasers can be used in conjunction with a solar sail to provide long-range boost or deceleration on the aforementioned probes.

How about a combination of railgun launch, nuclear propulsion, and laser boost to accelerate a long-range probe up to a fair bit of the speed of light? We could conceivably have sensor-laden probes streaking through Alpha Centauri a couple of centuries after launch!

With the Space Elevator fully running, we could also launch nuclear waste into the Sun in order to dispose of it safely and permanently.

In fact, if we ever get a really fine finite-element-analysis done of the Earth's weather patterns, we could even influence them by selectively warming sections of the ocean. Of course, that's a two-edged sword as well, but it's something to ponder.

My point is that, unlike an F-22 or a TOW missile, these investment in defense would have direct non-warlike applications.

:eyes: