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Cutbacks to NASA Funds for Asteroid Detection

Discussion in 'Alley of Dangerous Angles' started by Blades of Vanatar, Aug 13, 2009.

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  1. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Remove all ads!
    Armageddon? No, I don't think NASA could send a manned mission to land on and take off from an asteroid any time soon. But send an unmanned vehicle to land or smash into one? Sure, with enough time and planning.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Aug 14, 2009
    #21
  2. NOG (No Other Gods)

    NOG (No Other Gods) Going to church doesn't make you a Christian

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    Yeah, Armageddon is out of the question, but Missle Command isn't entirely unrealistic.
     
    NOG (No Other Gods), Aug 14, 2009
    #22
  3. T2Bruno

    T2Bruno The only source of knowledge is experience Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    The mission was simply to stop the comet. I think reaching out ten million miles to stop a comet is beyond the capabilities of NASA. Reaching out far enough to stop a planet killer -- even with the scenario Aldeth describes is beyond our abilities. Realize altering the path of a planet killer requires significant thrust, which is determined by mass distribution. The speed of a rocket, and consequently the shifting of a large body in space, is entirely determine by mass loss. We cannot land a large enough thruster, with adequate fuel, on an asteroid yet.
     
    T2Bruno, Aug 14, 2009
    #23
  4. NOG (No Other Gods)

    NOG (No Other Gods) Going to church doesn't make you a Christian

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    T2, that's where nukes come in. Now, if you mean a real planet killer, like something tens of miles across, then yeah, we're dead. But if you just mean a smaller extinction level event, I think we have a shot.

    Oh, and:
    Just out of curiosity, why do you want it to miss the moon? In order to significantly alter the moon's orbit, it'd have to be well past too large for all Earth's resources today to alter it's course. Most of the objects we're talking about wouldn't do more than put a new spot on the moon (and probably the dark side of it, at that).
     
    NOG (No Other Gods), Aug 14, 2009
    #24
  5. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Not quite. You need a significant change in momentum. If we're talking about landing some kind of thruster on it, you would need to use a thruster with a very high specific impulse (i.e. one that has a high change in momentum per unit of propellant). If such a thruster had a low thrust (such as current ion thrusters), you need lots of time to effect the change in momentum you need to a large body.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Aug 14, 2009
    #25
  6. NOG (No Other Gods)

    NOG (No Other Gods) Going to church doesn't make you a Christian

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    And the longer it takes, the larger the needed shift to be safe. That's why large explosions like a nuke are tempting. Large thrust applied instantaneously (or nearly so). There may be more energy efficient ways to apply that momentum, but no faster ways.
     
    NOG (No Other Gods), Aug 14, 2009
    #26
  7. T2Bruno

    T2Bruno The only source of knowledge is experience Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    True BTA, but the total momentum shift is still based on the mass of propellant released -- which still means a limited amount of thrust. Perhaps it would be enough, but do we really have something that can generate that kind of thrust in a total vacuum?

    NOG: Unless you can direct the explosive force the explosion goes by path of least resistance. Even multiple warheads would not alter the momentum of a space budy much without being significantly embedded into the asteroid -- which is rotating and the explosions would need to be accurately controlled from millions of miles away.
     
    T2Bruno, Aug 14, 2009
    #27
  8. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Oh, I think trying to change the orbit of an asteroid or comet by landing some number of thrusters on it would be an extremely difficult thing. You can't just put them anywhere since you want to effectively thrust against the body's CoM so you don't just change its angular momentum (which I assume would be mostly useless).
     
    Blackthorne TA, Aug 14, 2009
    #28

  9. The Great Snook Gems: 31/31
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    I'm actually concerned as Bruce Willis isn't getting any younger.
     
    The Great Snook, Aug 15, 2009
    #29
  10. Splunge

    Splunge Bhaal’s financial advisor Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    :lol: LMAO
     
    Splunge, Aug 15, 2009
    #30

  11. The Great Snook Gems: 31/31
    Latest gem: Rogue Stone

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    Thank you, I will be here all weekend. Try the veal.
     
    The Great Snook, Aug 15, 2009
    #31
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