Asteroid killing/deflection Mega Thread (Nuclear Bomb Saving Earth From an Asteroid)

[orb]

This thread is for discussing methods for destroying or deflection of asteroids (or comets) threatening Earth.

It was split from thread about Asteroid 2005 YU55.




30 posts below were moved from Asteroid 2005 YU55 to pass near Earth on Nov. 8, 2011 thread.

 

[fsci123]

Tip for my government...
Try to launch a missle at this rock just to prove that we can detect and intercept such an object...

Why dont we do that...

 

[Wishbone]

Unless the government goes belly flop without a budget...

This could be privatized, too. Let Elon Musk get the money, and stuff the Falcon Heavy with something potent...

 

[T.Neo]

Maybe because it'd be a waste of a missile, the missile doesn't nearly have enough dV to reach that high, it'd be an international treaty violation to detonate a nuclear device in space, and the end effects of hitting the object are as of yet unknown, and potentially pointless?

Yeah... :uhh:

EDIT:

Would it be illegal to detonate a nuke in space? The Outer Space Treaty goes on about placing weapons platforms in orbit, which this isn't... but also bans weapons testing in space or on other planetary bodies, which this pretty much qualifies as.

 

[Wishbone]

"Potent" could mean something completely different, like members of the Duma and Congress with shovels...

 

[fsci123]

Maybe because it'd be a waste of a missile, the missile doesn't nearly have enough dV to reach that high, it'd be an international treaty violation to detonate a nuclear device in space, and the end effects of hitting the object are as of yet unknown, and potentially pointless?

Yeah... :uhh:

EDIT:

Would it be illegal to detonate a nuke in space? The Outer Space Treaty goes on about placing weapons platforms in orbit, which this isn't... but also bans weapons testing in space or on other planetary bodies, which this pretty much qualifies as.

Im not saying we blow it up with a missile... im just saying my country should launch a missile filled with a dummy payload just to prove that we have the capability of intercepting such an object...

 

[Columbia42]

A big asteroid coming close to Earth? Uh oh, I feel a cheesy end-of-the-world movie coming on...

Anyway, I totally agree that we should launch a missile with a dummy warhead to prove that we can intercept something like this.

 

[RisingFury]

Tip for my government...
Try to launch a missle at this rock just to prove that we can detect and intercept such an object...

Why dont we do that...

You Americans are very good at blowing things up. You're somewhat less good at figuring out where the debris goes afterwards.

 

[Wishbone]

So are the Russians and the Chinese...

 

[Izack]

I wonder about that actually. How quickly could the US/Russia/Anyone get a nuclear warhead atop a suitable launch vehicle (ICBMs don't go nearly high enough for this, they'd just break it into smaller debris shortly before it enters the atmosphere, if they could hit it at all) and deliver it? We don't exactly have Atlas Vs/equivalents just hanging around waiting for payloads...

 

[Wishbone]

ICBMs can be used for that. Remember the apogee happens at about 1000 km, so if the timing's right, you can intercept the target some fifteen minutes after launch. Post-boost stage must be modified, though, to accept corrections to achieve the necessary accuracy. Warhead fuzing logic will have to be heavily modified and tested, as well.

 

[Izack]

ICBMs can be used for that. Remember the apogee happens at about 1000 km, so if the timing's right, you can intercept the target some fifteen minutes after launch. Post-boost stage must be modified, though, to accept corrections to achieve the necessary accuracy. Warhead fuzing logic will have to be heavily modified and tested, as well.

1000km still isn't high enough to make at least some debris miss Earth... Still, smaller chunks means greater drag over the same mass, so less energy would make it to the surface.

 

[Wishbone]

1000km still isn't high enough to make at least some debris miss Earth... Still, smaller chunks means greater drag over the same mass, so less energy would make it to the surface.

Not only that. Smaller chunks are disproportionately easier to burn. In comparison to a multi-year tug/paint/nibbler etc. mission to the asteroid to deflect it which requires reaching escape velocity, ICBMs are quite cost-effective - they have dV that's not enough for the first space velocity, and can be fired in salvoes to reduce risk (with due consideration for fratricide, of course).

 

[MaverickSawyer]

1000km still isn't high enough to make at least some debris miss Earth... Still, smaller chunks means greater drag over the same mass, so less energy would make it to the surface.

And just where does that energy go? into the atmosphere. :focus: :facepalm:

 

[Wishbone]

I'd rather put up with atmosphere heating up a hundredth of a degree than with blast wave...

 

[Pyromaniac605]

What's with all this talk about launching a missile with a dummy warhead? What the good does that do? :dry:

 

[Codz]

What's with all this talk about launching a missile with a dummy warhead? What the good does that do? :dry:

We'd rather not use a nuclear warhead in untested tactics on an asteroid that won't cause harm.

 

[Izack]

What's with all this talk about launching a missile with a dummy warhead? What the good does that do? :dry:

Presumably a real hydrogen bomb would be used in such an event.

 

[RS-232]

After reading all the posts about using Nukes to destroy it, can't they detonate a nuke just far enough away from the asteroid to alter its trajectory without breaking it up? If done just right maybe its next encounter with Venus would be its last.


EDIT: The reason I say this is because what if it was going to hit the earth? Would this not be a way of testing out a "last resort" scenario?

 

[RisingFury]

After reading all the posts about using Nukes to destroy it, can't they detonate a nuke just far enough away from the asteroid to alter its trajectory without breaking it up? If done just right maybe its next encounter with Venus would be its last.

There's no dense air or other gas in space. If you detonate a nuclear warhead, the explosion won't create any pressure. The only way you're going to deflect the asteroid is if you detonate a nuclear warhead at its surface. The rock and ice will melt and get ejected from the asteroid - kind of like propellant ejecting from the nozzle of a rocket engine. Only that will nudge the asteroid off course.

EDIT: The reason I say this is because what if it was going to hit the earth? Would this not be a way of testing out a "last resort" scenario?

This would be a very bad test, even if you managed to nuke it and not break it apart. Currently we know exactly where the asteroid will fly for quite a long time in the future and its danger to Earth can be accurately estimated. If you deflect it and change its trajectory, we'll have to measure it for a while before we can determine where it will fly. You run the risk of deflecting it into a trajectory more dangerous than the current one.


The best way of deflecting an asteroid is not to nuke it or ram it, but to park a heavy spacecraft near it. The gravitational influence of the spacecraft on the asteroid will be small, but over time it will tug the asteroid out of harms way. The only thing you need to know about the asteroid is a rough estimate of its mass. If you wanted to nuke or ram it, you'd have to know how the asteroid would react to such an event.