NASA Designs Asteroid Nuking Satellite

[kinggodzilla87]

http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/678370/NASA_Designs_Asteroid_Nuking_Satellite.html


NASA Designs Asteroid Nuking Satellite

NEA Asteroid is Coming
it is going to make a pass in 2027 or 26 they want to deflect it because if it passes throght a 600 mile area it will hit earth when it comes back in 2037

if they are drawing up plans it must be serious

I post this here because we are talkin about putting Nuke in Space

I think it a great Idea

 

[RubiconNZ]

I think it a great Idea

Putting nuclear weapons in space?

 

[kato]

if they are drawing up plans it must be serious

NASA funds plans for antimatter-reaction engines for spacecraft, and a lot of similar a bit "far-fetched" projects. Just for some comparison. Considering there isn't a NASA or MSFC press release for this, i'd rate it about the same "as likely" to happen.

 

[crobato]

Putting nuclear weapons in space?

Minor issue compared to the issue of the survival of the human species.

 

[kinggodzilla87]

Putting nuclear weapons in space?

for stoping a Asteroid hell yes

Mod: Plz avoid one liners like this & your post bellow. Put more information in it as well.

 

[kinggodzilla87]

NASA funds plans for antimatter-reaction engines for spacecraft, and a lot of similar a bit "far-fetched" projects. Just for some comparison. Considering there isn't a NASA or MSFC press release for this, i'd rate it about the same "as likely" to happen.

and were makeing antimatter for it

 

[kato]

and were makeing antimatter for it

The only facility producing antimatter (positrons) currently is CERN, in Switzerland.

Active production capacity is estimated to reach 30ng of antimatter per year by 2020. At that capacity, that means roughly 300.000 years to produce the 10mg of antimatter NASA states for a Mars journey.

 

[LancerMc]

The use of nuclear weapons in space is a strict violation of I believe the SALT II treaty. In recent years President Bush has wanted to relieve the US of this burden.

Now if NASA has obviously designed such a system for the safety of planet in mind, but I am sure a few country wouldn't like the idea of nukes in space being controlled by the US. I am sure the UN security council would have direct control of the weapons in some capacity to make sure they weren't used as a weapon against earth.

 

[kinggodzilla87]

The only facility producing antimatter (positrons) currently is CERN, in Switzerland.

Active production capacity is estimated to reach 30ng of antimatter per year by 2020. At that capacity, that means roughly 300.000 years to produce the 10mg of antimatter NASA states for a Mars journey.

there is a place south o chicago that make more

I forgot the name I will look it up when I get time

 

[s002wjh]

nuke in space

I don't think nuke will have the shock wave it need to deflect the target in space due to luck of air. In a vacuum space there can't be any shock wave, all the energy produce by nuke is gonna be radiations, and radiations basically just type of light, so i don't think you can push the comet out of orbit.

 

[kinggodzilla87]

I don't think nuke will have the shock wave it need to deflect the target in space due to luck of air. In a vacuum space there can't be any shock wave, all the energy produce by nuke is gonna be radiations, and radiations basically just type of light, so i don't think you can push the comet out of orbit.

that not ture
ie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Prometheus

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

and

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


O and we talking Asteroid not comet

 

[kato]

(offtopic post)

there is a place south o chicago that make more

You mean Fermilab's Tevatron. They're a bit slower though.

Based on the experience at Fermilab, the largest known producer of human-made antiprotons anywhere, McGinnis estimates the power bill alone for producing one-fourth of a gram of antimatter would be on the order of one thousand trillion US dollars.
[...]
"Fermilab can make antiprotons at a rate of 120 billion antiprotons per hour," McGinnis says. "At the end of Collider Run II of the Tevatron, we hope to make antiprotons at a rate of 400 billion antiprotons per hour. Even at this rate, it would take us about 40 million years to make 250 milligrams of antimatter."

(2004 statement)

CERN has five times the production capacity of Fermilab's Tevatron once they get their newest cyclotron online.

 

[kinggodzilla87]

(offtopic post)



You mean Fermilab's Tevatron. They're a bit slower though.




CERN has five times the production capacity of Fermilab's Tevatron.

yea that its
DARPA is in on it to

 

[s002wjh]

kinggodzilla

i was talking about nuke in vacuum space doesn't matter is asteroid or comet, there won't be any pressure blast that cause by air. there will only be radiations, which is type of light. of course light can be use for propulsion, its the similar concept as ion drive,which use electrical charge to push the spacecraft, but the pressure cause by these are very very small, so you have to constantly supply energy in order to push somethign in space, this is not explosion however.

there are many nuke test in vaccum, u can search for. also a friend of mine is phd in physic so he know these stuff. read this http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/conghand/nuclear.htm

 

[Ozzy Blizzard]

kinggodzilla

i was talking about nuke in vacuum space doesn't matter is asteroid or comet, there won't be any pressure blast that cause by air. there will only be radiations, which is type of light. of course light can be use for propulsion, its the similar concept as ion drive,which use electrical charge to push the spacecraft, but the pressure cause by these are very very small, so you have to constantly supply energy in order to push somethign in space, this is not explosion however.

there are many nuke test in vaccum, u can search for. also a friend of mine is phd in physic so he know these stuff. read this http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/conghand/nuclear.htm

The objective isnt to hit the object with any kinetic energy, as you pointed out there is no medium in space to transfer the energy unless the explosion actually occurs on the surface of the asteroid, which would probably shatter it. IIRC the objective is to use the gamma & X rays that the detonation produces to vaporise the surface of the asteriod producing thrust, thus nudgeing it out of the way.

 

[s002wjh]

to quote someone "In space the blast wave is made up only of the superheated components of the original bomb, whereas in an atmosphere a large volume of air is flash heated, which creates a compact overpressure wave that propagates at sound-speed and is responsible for much of the immediate destruction surrounding an atomic bomb explosion.
So the idea of detonating a nuke close to, but not in contact with, an asteroid is actually exploiting the very poor quality of the blast, in an attempt not to disrupt fragile objects." I don't think the gamma ray will have enough energy to nudge some large asteriod away

 

[kinggodzilla87]

to quote someone "In space the blast wave is made up only of the superheated components of the original bomb, whereas in an atmosphere a large volume of air is flash heated, which creates a compact overpressure wave that propagates at sound-speed and is responsible for much of the immediate destruction surrounding an atomic bomb explosion.
So the idea of detonating a nuke close to, but not in contact with, an asteroid is actually exploiting the very poor quality of the blast, in an attempt not to disrupt fragile objects." I don't think the gamma ray will have enough energy to nudge some large asteriod away

it only needs to be moved a lil bit rigth?
so wont it be enough

 

[Ozzy Blizzard]

to quote someone "In space the blast wave is made up only of the superheated components of the original bomb, whereas in an atmosphere a large volume of air is flash heated, which creates a compact overpressure wave that propagates at sound-speed and is responsible for much of the immediate destruction surrounding an atomic bomb explosion.
So the idea of detonating a nuke close to, but not in contact with, an asteroid is actually exploiting the very poor quality of the blast, in an attempt not to disrupt fragile objects." I don't think the gamma ray will have enough energy to nudge some large asteriod away

its not just the push of the gamma rays. Its the heat that the radiation transferes to the surface of the asteroid, which vaporises the top layer of rock, the gasses move away from the asteroid producing thrust. Thats the point, not just the push of the radiation. In that case a solar sail would be a much better option.

 

[s002wjh]

its not just the push of the gamma rays. Its the heat that the radiation transferes to the surface of the asteroid, which vaporises the top layer of rock, the gasses move away from the asteroid producing thrust. Thats the point, not just the push of the radiation. In that case a solar sail would be a much better option.

i understand your point, but when radiant a solid object like rock, is there enough thrust cause by the vaporization at all to move the asteroid? we are not talking about jet engine push the air at high speed, just general vaporize of rock cause by the radiation instantaneously. at that precise moment the top layer of asteroid is vaporize, the vaporized particle/gas free flow to every direction. so my point is 1st vaporized gas unlike engine which pushed the gas at high speed, thus produce small thrust. 2nd the particle is flow to every direction kind like fan shape, thus produce even less thrust.

 

[thorpete1]

their would be a significant amount of thrust if the surface was vapourised. I like other proposals though that are a bit simpler but get eh same job done, for example, using sattelite sizerd mirrors to concentrate sunlight on specific spots of the asteroid to vaperise the surface and create thrust or just parking a statelite next to he asteroid and letting the gravity interations pull the asteroid of hte impact course.

I would hope a nuclear satelite asteroid killer would only be used as a last ditch effort against asteroids that arn't seen.
Cheers!