I have been hearing that the US Army is either developing or has developed a multi kilowatt laser. I am now wondering what the effect of such a laser would be on an asteroid.
Could it be used to create out gassing to change the trajectory?
Could it be used to cut up a NEO asteroid after it passes by and perhaps make the smaller pieces more susceptible to solar winds or the sun’s gravity?
Perhaps even accelerate rotational velocity until destruction from centripetal forces?
Could be an interesting job for the space force.
Yeah, but suppose the asteroid breaks up and changes trajectory aiming straight at earth. Who ya gonna sue?