Russian Space Agency may shoot at Asteroid
David E. Powell
it was predicted to come very close. I was kind of surprised when a
lot of space folks blew it off, but now the Russians look to be trying
something. Even if this asteroid isn't going to be a danger, it's
worth a try to get experience.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091230/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_asteroid_encounter
Space head: Russia may send spacecraft to asteroid
Buzz up!849 votes Send
Email IM .Share
Delicious Digg Facebook Fark Newsvine Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati
Twitter Yahoo! Bookmarks .Print .. AFP – Russian Soyuz TMA-17 is set
to blast off to the International Space Station. Three astronauts from
Japan, … .By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer Vladimir
Isachenkov, Associated Press Writer – Wed Dec 30, 8:28 am ET
MOSCOW – Russia's space chief said Wednesday his agency will consider
sending a spacecraft to a large asteroid to knock it off its path and
prevent a possible collision with Earth.
Anatoly Perminov said the space agency will hold a meeting soon to
assess a mission to Apophis, telling Golos Rossii radio that it would
invite NASA, the European Space Agency, the Chinese space agency and
others to join the project once it is finalized.
When the 270-meter (885-foot) asteroid was first discovered in 2004,
astronomers estimated the chances of it smashing into Earth in its
first flyby in 2029 were as high as 1-in-37.
Further studies ruled out the possibility of an impact in 2029, when
the asteroid is expected to come no closer than 18,300 miles (29,450
kilometers) above Earth's surface, but they indicated a small
possibility of a hit on subsequent encounters.
In October, NASA lowered the odds that Apophis could hit Earth in 2036
from a 1-in-45,000 as earlier thought to a 1-in-250,000 chance after
researchers recalculated the asteroid's path. It said another close
encounter in 2068 will involve a 1-in-330,000 chance of impact.
Scientists have long theorized about asteroid deflection strategies.
Some have proposed sending a probe to circle around a dangerous
asteroid to gradually change its trajectory. Others suggested sending
a spacecraft to collide with the asteroid and alter its momentum, or
using nuclear weapons to hit it.
Without mentioning NASA findings, Perminov said that he heard from a
scientist that Apophis is getting closer and may hit the planet. "I
don't remember exactly, but it seems to me it could hit the Earth by
2032," Perminov said.
He wouldn't disclose any details of the project, saying they still
need to be worked out. But he said the mission wouldn't require any
nuclear explosions.
Hollywood action films "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon," have featured
space missions scrambling to avoid catastrophic collisions. In both
movies space crews use nuclear bombs in an attempt to prevent
collisions.
"Calculations show that it's possible to create a special purpose
spacecraft within the time we have, which would help avoid the
collision without destroying it (the asteroid) and without detonating
any nuclear charges," Perminov said. "The threat of collision can be
averted."
"People's lives are at stake. We should pay several hundred million
dollars and build a system that would allow to prevent a collision,
rather than sit and wait for it to happen and kill hundreds of
thousands of people," he added.
Boris Shustov, the director of the Institute of Astronomy under the
Russian Academy of Sciences, hailed Perminov's statement as a signal
that officials had come to recognize the danger posed by asteroids.
"Apophis is just a symbolic example, there are many other dangerous
objects we know little about," he said, according to RIA Novosti news
agency.
trijcomm
wrote:
> I heard the story of this asteroid coming near a few years ago, that
> it was predicted to come very close. I was kind of surprised when a
> lot of space folks blew it off, but now the Russians look to be trying
> something. Even if this asteroid isn't going to be a danger, it's
> worth a try to get experience.
>
I don't know about this -- were talking about a lot of money here ...
John Doe
> I don't know about this -- were talking about a lot of money here ...
Considering that launch technology permits only very light payloads for
anything beyond LEO, I doubt that they could launch anything with enough
mass to deflect a significant asteroid just by impacting with it.
I guess rendez-vous with an asteroid is a first step. But that is a tiny
step compared to deflecting one.
P-Dub
level. Even if it's not necessary in the long run to shoot or deflect
this satellite, I believe that developing the technology to do this is
in the best interest of the US of A - and possibly the world.
In fact, I wanna work on it. It's more exciting than business software
any day. Where do I sign up?
P-Dub: This reminds me of an old Star Trek TOS episode where an asteroid
was heading to this earth-like planet, and Kirk had to find a way to
deflect it - or destroy the planet before it destroyed another planet.
There was a mysterious obelisk there, and Kirk ended up dressing like an
American Indian - calling himself 'Kee-rock'.
David E. Powell wrote:
> I heard the story of this asteroid coming near a few years ago, that
> it was predicted to come very close. I was kind of surprised when a
> lot of space folks blew it off, but now the Russians look to be trying
> something. Even if this asteroid isn't going to be a danger, it's
> worth a try to get experience.
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091230/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_asteroid_encounter
>
> Space head: Russia may send spacecraft to asteroid
> Buzz up!849 votes Send
> Email IM .Share
> Delicious Digg Facebook Fark Newsvine Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati
> Twitter Yahoo! Bookmarks .Print .. AFP � Russian Soyuz TMA-17 is set
> to blast off to the International Space Station. Three astronauts from
> Japan, � .By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer Vladimir
> Isachenkov, Associated Press Writer � Wed Dec 30, 8:28 am ET
> MOSCOW � Russia's space chief said Wednesday his agency will consider
Brian Gaff
you could find yourslef trying to find lots of smaller bits rather than one
big bit!
Brian
--
Brian Gaff - bri...@blueyonder.co.uk
Note:- In order to reduce spam, any email without 'Brian Gaff'
in the display name may be lost.
Blind user, so no pictures please!
"David E. Powell" <David_Po...@msn.com> wrote in message
news:0cd934ab-f520-4a58...@z40g2000vba.googlegroups.com...
Scott M. Kozel
> it was predicted to come very close. I was kind of surprised when a
> lot of space folks blew it off, but now the Russians look to be trying
> something. Even if this asteroid isn't going to be a danger, it's
> worth a try to get experience.
What if they screw up and accidently change the orbit into an Earth-
impacting course?
May be better to leave well-enough alone ...
Brian Thorn
<koz...@comcast.net> wrote:
>What if they screw up and accidently change the orbit into an Earth-
>impacting course?
>
>May be better to leave well-enough alone ...
Step 1: Put radio beacons on Apophis and track it for a few years to
get accurate orbital data. If Russia wants to take lead on that, more
power to them.
Brian
Mhoram
> <koz...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>
>>What if they screw up and accidently change the orbit into an Earth-
>>impacting course?
>>
Duh, you just shoot-up the little bits after that. My only concern is that,
as far as I know, the Russians have no shield or transport technology which
makes it much more dangerous of a mission. Hopefully no hostile UFO's are
in the area at the time...