Russia can build anti-asteroid systems if necessary – official

Itar-Tass ^ | 24.10.2006

[presidio9]

Russia is capable of building machinery to fight the asteroid hazard, Federal Space Agency deputy head Viktor Remishevsky said on Tuesday.

“The Russian missile industry is capable of manufacturing anti-asteroid systems if necessary,” he said. “So far, there are no techniques to use the existent space machinery for fighting asteroids.”

The asteroid danger is not on the Federal Space Agency program. “If a method of suppressing this danger with space machinery is found, we will make such systems. Anyway, the missile industry can do that,” he said.

Asteroids are a problem to be tackled through international cooperation, Remishevsky said. “Research satellites, telescopes and land-based infrastructure of the Russian Academy of Sciences must supply information about the asteroid danger,” he said.

The Applied Astronomy Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences has identified about 400 asteroids and over 30 comets that may endanger the Earth in the future. Asteroid 2907, which has over one kilometer in diameter, is the largest concern. Experts believe that this asteroid may ram the Earth on December 16, 2880.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has called for comprehensive studies of the asteroid hazard. Scientists will calculate the orbits of no less than 90% of asteroids, whose diameter exceeds one kilometer and which may come close to the Earth under certain circumstances, within the next year.

[Red Badger]

UK and France and China et al had to "lend a hand" because the US and USSR missiles together were not powerful enough........Remember the scene where all the missiles came together and were headed enmasse to the target?...........

[Red Badger]

Yes, but this was a movie produced when people still didn't have much of a clue as to exactly how ICBMs did what hey did........

[EQAndyBuzz]

To kill the rogue spaceship(I am assuming it is probably the Argelians) you have to cruise at light speed around the entire universe and as soon as you reenter you shoot in the general direction.

The Argelians aren't the most intelligent beings. They will drive the ship right into the blast. As a side note. That's 100 points.

[theFIRMbss]

>Russia can build anti-asteroid systems

Gross Domestic Product ($million)
-----------------------------------------
...
12     India     775,410
13     Mexico     768,437
14     Russia     766,180

[presidio9]

ping

[agere_contra]

Its worse that that. Russia's GDP per capita is less than 6K, as opposed to 40+K for the US, 37+K for the UK

[GarySpFc]

Its worse that that. Russia's GDP per capita is less than 6K, as opposed to 40+K for the US, 37+K for the UK

According to the CIA World Factbook the GDP per capita for Russia is $11,100. (2005)

The GDP per capita in the US is $41,800. (2005)
The GDP per capita in the UK is $30,300. (2005)

[RightWhale]

One kilometer is nearly the ideal size of asteroid to consider for space mining. Space mining would be an excellent way to dispose of these hazards.

[The Westerner]

Dr. Bill Wattenberg, the nuclear scientist who has a science talk show on KGO, one night discussed this. It was his opinion that the US should be developing an anti-asteroid ability, and if memory serves correctly, he suggested using some of our orbiting space junk to collide with the asteroid. I thought it made a lot of sense. And obviously uses existing technology. Don't know why the Russians are making such a big deal out of this.

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

“The Russian missile industry is capable of manufacturing anti-asteroid systems if necessary,a space based weapons platform”

There, fixed it.

[RightWhale]

using some of our orbiting space junk to collide with the asteroid

Position and momentum say this approach would be nearly zero effectiveness. Like being sure to wear a helmet when riding a bike into a bridge abutment at 700 mph.

[ASOC]

Of no doubt in charge Ministry of Emergency Situations will be.

(For fun paste "Ministry of Emergency Situations " into Google, some site are actually readable)

Example
The Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus (MES) is a state agency, exercising control and management in the sphere of prevention and elimination of natural and man-made emergency situations and fire safety.

[A. Pole]

I find this to be very difficult to believe.

To deflect the asteroid with relatively small force you need to do it much earlier at the earlier pass near the Earth. Attach the rocket booster to the asteroid, fire in the well calculated direction and this should introduce significant deviation after long time.

[cowtowney]

I had asteroids once. They really hurt.

[RightWhale]

Best place to deflect is not where it approaches closely but when it is farthest. If deflected at the nearest point it will still come back to that point, and maybe sooner.

[Ancesthntr]

Wouldn't missiles that don't need Oxygen to breath work in space ?

The burning of the fuel isn't the issue. They don't have enough thrust to leave orbit, nor the quantity of fuel to do so. You need an orbiting system, or else nukes on a Saturn V.

[RightWhale]

The place to preposition is in solar orbit. That is, beyond earth orbit. If several systems are prepositioned one of them would be able to move to intercept a surprise asteroid fairly quickly. If in earth orbit they would just as likely be on the wrong side of the solar system and on top of that still have to carry excess tons of fuel for earth escape.

[theFIRMbss]

>Best place to deflect is...

No one's paranoid
enough in this thread! Just think--
the technology

to deflect asteroids
AWAY from the earth ALSO
could deflect asteroids

TOWARD the earth. Do we
want governments (anyone's!)
to have this option?

[RightWhale]

Same reason we don't seem to be having many nuclear wars (so far). The survivors will have to live here.