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Gravity Tractor Could Deflect Asteroids
Hugh Pickens writes "A new study at the Jet Propulsion Labs shows that weak gravitational pull of a "gravity tractor" could deflect an Earth-threatening asteroid if it was deployed when the asteroid was at least one orbit away from potential impact with Earth. First a spacecraft would be crashed directly into the asteroid, similar to the Deep Impact mission that impacted a comet in 2005. This would provide a big change of direction, but in a less controllable fashion that could push the path of the asteroid into a dangerous keyhole. But then a second spacecraft, the gravity tractor, would come into play, hovering about 150 meters away from the asteroid, to exert a gentle gravitational force, changing the asteroid's velocity by only 0.22 microns per second each day. Over a long enough time, that could steer it away from the keyhole. In the simulation, a simple control system kept the spacecraft in position, and a transponder on the asteroid helped monitor its position and thus determine its trajectory more precisely than would be possible otherwise. 'The gravity tractor is a wimp, but it's a precise wimp,' said astronaut Jack Schweickart. 'It can make very small, precise changes in orbit, and that's what you need to avoid a keyhole.'"
Do I get a nifty green hat to wear while I'm on it?
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." -Albert Einstein
Bruce Willis hovers over an asteroid for two action-packed hours!
http://twitter.com/OLDTELEGRAM
Will be done by holding monthly Gravity Tractor Pulls at the local fairgrounds, with free beer.
Just disrupt the deflector shield with a tachyon burst.
... and I thought it would be more like this.
I agree. They should use furlongs and fathoms.
After they've lined up, what then?
Barman: Do you really think the world's about to end?
Ford: Yes, in just over 3 minutes and 5 seconds.
Barman: Well, isn't there anything we can do?
Ford: No. Nothing.
Barman: I thought we were supposed to lie down, put a paper bag over our head or something...?
Ford: Yes, if you like.
Barman: Will that help?
Ford: No. Excuse me, I've got to go.
Barman: Ah, well. Last orders please!
We should be watching to see if the dolphins leave the Earth by their own means.
It's not orbital mechanics, but asteroid mechanics that come into play. An asteroid may be a loose gravel pile, so an engine placed on the surface may dig in, or even push all the way through. Gravity traction is a very low-stress way to impart momentum.
I'm not a rocket scientist, but my hot girlfriend's little sister is...
or Smoots :D
We are currently working on this cold issue. However, some have termed this effort "Global Warming" and have decided that it is a bad thing.
I just got a patent on giant space traffic signs to divert and manage traffic flow. More effective and it does not get stuck in space mud. Plus I can't get sued if my product fails! hahaha I'll be rich.
lol: You see no door there!
How about we launch 'accelotrons" to generate wormholes around the threatening asteroids and cometary matter. Just send them off... POOF! GONE. (Well, until beings from Klixator Prime and other places come knocking on our door with cease and desist orders due to all OUR life-extinguishing heavenly bodies create junk yards in other worlds...)
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
It will be much easier to colonize the moon if we move it a bit closer.
Yup. It's the Kahan summation algorithm. It works as you describe it and it used to compensate the error that happens when doing very big sums of very small numbers
Ah yes. It's a very useful algorithm, although you only touch on the second stage of dealing with the error, which is the usage of the algorithm in compensating for the error.
There is a first, less commonly mentioned stage that the algorithm helps with, which is dealing with the frustration on encountering the error in the first place.
You can yell out KAHAAAAAAAAAAAN.
Okay, I'm done.