Parametric Study of the Diversion via a Tether/Ballast System of a Near Earth Object on an Earth Intersecting Trajectory
- Paper number
IAC-08.C1.1.2
- Author
Mr. David French, North Carolina State University, United States
- Coauthor
Prof. Andre Mazzoleni, North Carolina State University, United States
- Year
2008
- Abstract
The threat of an asteroid or other near Earth object (NEO) impacting the Earth has been receiving more attention in recent years, due in part to the discovery of the Apophis asteroid, which was originally projected to impact the Earth in the year 2036. Although a second analysis of the Apophis trajectory all but precluded an impact, the threat gained the attention of many influential people, including some members of Congress, which demanded a report from NASA on the subject of mitigating the threat posed by NEOs. In the resulting document, as well as other forums, many ideas have been put forward for mitigating such a potential threat. This paper presents a new technique, namely the use of a long tether and ballast mass to change the orbit of a NEO. Specifically, a parametric study was conducted to determine the resulting miss distance achieved using the tether/mass system, varying orbital semimajor axis and eccentricity and varying tether length, ballast mass, and simulation duration. The results show that a long tether and ballast mass could be effective in diverting a threatening NEO. Better results were achieved for longer tethers, larger ballast masses and smaller, higher eccentricity orbits.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-08.C1.1.2.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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