Russia May Send Spacecraft to Knock Away Asteroid

[BoilerDown]

Wasn't that a 100 megaton bomb?

Well that picture he linked is shown here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tsar01.jpg .

So we can pretty easily guess which bomb he's talking about. Although I don't see the relevance to the discussion at hand.

[trax1]

Wasn't that a 100 megaton bomb?

Well the bomb design was for 100 megatons, but the one detonated was 50 megatons.

[Raptor]

Well we have unmanned satellite launching programs too, in fact a majority of the satellites we put in orbit is done with unmanned launchers.

Wasn't sure, but I know the one in Brazil is larger because they get business launching satelites from corporations in Europe as well as some in US. Something about it being easier to launch from near equator

[trax1]

Wasn't sure, but I know the one in Brazil is larger because they get business launching satelites from corporations in Europe as well as some in US. Something about it being easier to launch from near equator

Yeah it is easier at the equator, thats why theres even a company called "Sea Launch" that has a floating launch pad to launch satellites from the equator.

[Oleg]

Knowing the russians the project will be a catastriphic failure that will guide the asteroid towards earth not away from it.

Well, may be they decided there are no reason for USA to exist after 2029 

btw, i wouldnt take that announcement too seriously.

[Sombra]

Well, the Russians picked up samples from the moon well before Humans were there....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_programme

Another major achievement of the Luna programme, with Luna 16, Luna 20 and Luna 24 spacecrafts, was the ability to collect samples of lunar soil and return them to Earth, by 1970. The program returned 0.326 kg of lunar samples. The Luna missions were the first space-exploration sample return missions to rely solely on advanced robotics.

Luna 15, also designed to return soil samples from the lunar surface, holds the significance of undergoing its mission at the same time as the historic Apollo 11 mission. Arguably a last-ditch attempt to steal thunder from the potential American success, it would have returned lunar samples to Earth before the Apollo astronauts could do so. However, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were already on the lunar surface when Luna 15 began its descent, and the spacecraft crashed into a mountain minutes later.

[sntslilhlpr6601]

While its almost certainly unnecessary, we (as a species) will learn a lot by trying.  It'll be good to see the Russians take the lead on this, since Nasa doesn't have the funding to attempt it themselves.  I hope they get the international support they need to get it off the ground.

Man, and I was so planning on being in Europe to watch this thing fly by us in 2029...

I guess you're right though, though its most certainly unnecessary it'll be a good learning experience. Because eventually one will come right for us...

[texasmom]

Man, and I was so planning on being in Europe to watch this thing fly by us in 2029...

I guess you're right though, though its most certainly unnecessary it'll be a good learning experience. Because eventually one will come right for us...

Why Europe?
Is there some trajectory model that says Europe is the only place that will have the good view?

[tassos]

 

[ROX]

What are they going to send up?   300 Tons of Preperation H?



ROX

[Angus]

The idea being worked with is some kind of a solar-sail, which would divert the asteroid away. I don't understand why the heck they just simply don't:
1 Nook the thing out of the path.
2 Nook the thing down to dust.

The asteroid (or pile of rocks rather) is less than a qurtermile x quartermile. The fireball of the biggest H-bomb detonated was 5 miles across.

[nirvana]

The idea being worked with is some kind of a solar-sail, which would divert the asteroid away. I don't understand why the heck they just simply don't:
1 Nook the thing out of the path.
2 Nook the thing down to dust.

The asteroid (or pile of rocks rather) is less than a qurtermile x quartermile. The fireball of the biggest H-bomb detonated was 5 miles across.

I concur.

[grizz441]

It's a good idea for the international community to get the ball rolling on these types of missions.  Even if we fail here, the knowledge gained will help for future missions where failure is not an option...

[Angus]

Completely agree.
Anyway, is there any information about those"solar sails"?
And how does a nuke work in the voids of space?

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Try to nuke it in space and probably EMP the whole planet as a result.

Ooopps!