Tiny Satellite Set To Hunt Asteroids

coondoggie writes "Canadian scientists are developing a 143-lb microsatellite to detect and track near-earth asteroids and comets, as well as satellites and space junk. The suitcase-sized Near Earth Object Surveillance Satellite includes a 6-inch diameter telescope, smaller than most amateur astronomers' scopes, that by being located 435 miles above the Earth's atmosphere will be able to detect moving asteroids delivering as few as 50 photons of light in a 100-second exposure. The NEOSSat will twist and turn hundreds of times each day, orbiting from pole to pole every 50 minutes, almost always in sunlight. The telescope has a sunshade that allows searching the sky to within 45 degrees of the Sun, in order to detect near-Earth asteroids whose orbits are entirely inside Earth's." The probe was announced a few days before the 100th anniversary of the Tunguska blast.

Comments

There is hope

[Anonymous Meoward]

Any technology that can promise to shoot Bruce Willis into space one day is worth pursuing.

(Just get Steve Buscemi back please.)

Re:There is hope

[elrous0]

I'm sorry, I can't morally support any government project that leaves Bruce Willis in space but allows Ben Affleck to return.

Insert coin

[Applekid]

Once the satellite is equipped with a gun, it can shoot the big asteroids into two smaller ones, and each of those asteroids into two even smaller ones. Hitting the smallest ones will make them disappear.

Re:Insert coin

[FlyingSquidStudios]

Sadly, that only works when the asteroids are two-dimensional and hollow. However, the threat of randomly shooting flying saucers is now negligible.

space junk

[thermian]

I'd say its more likely that the space junk detection bit will be more useful in the short term, since it'll need a whole lot more then this to stop another one like the Tunguska impactor.

What we need is a way of finding and clearing out the near earth orbitting man made crap so we can reliably place constellations of satellites in orbit, and open up commercial travel.

I want to see active asteroid mining taking place, and for that we need clear skies. Hundreds of ships going up and down a day will mean its absolutely required.

Re:space junk

[cavis]

From what I understand, NASA already tracks a large number of these objects from earth so they can avoid the debris. You don't want a launch a satellite or the Space Shuttle just to have it collide with Ed White's glove or Michael Collin's camera. The bigger problem is there are thousands of very small particles that came from explosions. Much of that debris has fallen back into the atmosphere and burnt up, but there is quite a bit still up there.

The bigger question is: How do we clean it up?

More info at.

[Overkill Nbuta]

http://ucalgary.ca/news/june2008/NEOSSat

Tiny?? That's not tiny....

[Muad'Dave]

... THIS is tiny!

Satellite swarms

[OpenSourceNut]

It should be noted that this year is the 400th anniversary of the telescope.

Maybe they will soon figure out how to etch a telescope on a circuit board and send swarms of thousands of networked satellites out there to look for these asteroids.

This is absolutely not approved

[Daimanta]

by the PETA. People for Ethical Treatment of Asteroids.

Sat Stats

[condition-label-red]

Interesting maneuvering method: solar powered magnetic fields -- no fuel needed.

NEOSSat

Telescope: Able to look for objects near the sun - a task virtually impossible to do from Earth.

Extends 30 centimetres.

Weight: 65 kilograms

Power: 45 watts with favourable orientation of solar panels

Propulsion: Solar-powered magnetic "fingers" push against the Earth's magnetic field. It will never run out of propellant.

Orbit: Sun synchronous, 800 km above the Earth, orbiting pole to pole