RE: RECORD NUMBER OF ASTEROIDS

[Barry Warmkessel]

• NASA has already got ‘Barry’s threat.
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• NASA CHIEF WARNS ASTEROID THREAT IS REAL: 'IT’S NOT ABOUT MOVIES - May 1, 2019. https://www.ibtimes.com/nasa-chief-warns-asteroid-threat-real-its-not-about-movies-2789108
  Asteroids could very well hit Earth in the near future and cause widespread destruction, according to NASA.
  NASA's administrator emphasized the significance of planetary defense in protecting people against possible asteroid and comet impacts during his introductory speech at the 2019 Planetary Defense Conference on April 29.
• DART LAUNCH MOVES TO SECONDARY WINDOW - Feb 18, 2021 https://www.asdnews.com/news/aerospace/2021/02/18/dart-launch-moves-secondary-window.   The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), NASA's first flight demonstration for planetary defense, seeks to test and validate a method to protect Earth in case of an asteroid impact threat. The mission aims to shift an asteroid's orbit through kinetic impact – specifically, by impacting a spacecraft into the smaller member of the binary asteroid system Didymos to change its orbital speed. At the request of Science Mission Directorate (SMD) senior leadership, a risk assessment was performed on the DART project schedule to determine the viability of the primary (July 21, 2021 to August 24, 2021) and secondary (November 24, 2021 to February 15, 2022) launch periods. Based on the results of this assessment, SMD determined the primary launch period is no longer viable and has directed the DART project pursue their secondary launch window. The DART project is currently working with SpaceX and NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) to identify the earliest possible launch opportunity within this secondary window.
• DART will still arrive at the Didymos binary asteroid system within a few days of the originally scheduled impact date of September 30, 2022and will carry out its kinetic impact test on the moonlet Dimorphos as planned. 

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