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Nukes Against Earth-Impacting Asteroids

Posted by kdawson on from the armageddon-outta-here dept.

TopSpin writes "Flight International reports that scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center have developed designs for an array of asteroid interceptors wielding 1.2-megaton B83 nuclear warheads. The hypothetical mission for these designs is based on an Apophis-sized Earth impactor 2 to 5 years out. According to NASA, 'Nuclear standoff explosions are assessed to be 10-100 times more effective [at deflection] than the non-nuclear alternatives analyzed in this study." On April 13, 2029, Apophis will pass closer to earth than geosynchronous satellites orbit.

3 of 491 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I, for one, welcome our... by ppc_digger · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Am I the only one who is a bit worried about NASA's threat number for Apophis [99942]?

    --
    Of all major operating systems, UNIX is the only one originally meant for gaming.
  2. Re:I, for one, welcome our... by RuBLed · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    That and then invert the first 3...

    sums up everything for me...

  3. Re:S.T.U.P.I.D. by Glock27 · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    Wish I had some mod points today: +5 insightful.

    The only nit I have is that there may very well be future moments when nuclear weapons are our best alternatives, Barack "Osama" Obama notwithstanding.

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    Galileo: "The Earth revolves around the Sun!"
    Score: -1 100% Flamebait