Delta4Embassy
Gold Member
Yup, the Russians.
Russia to spend billions on asteroid defense
" Moscow believes an operable national defense against threats from outer space can be built within 10 years’ time. The 500-kiloton explosion of a space bolide above the Urals region has sped-up allocation of some $2 billion to prevent future threats.
Russian scientists have presented a federal program designed to counteract space threats. Elaborated by the Institute of Astronomy at Russia’s Academy of Sciences and the Central Engineering Research Institute, Russia’s leading space industry enterprise, the program has already been approved by Roskosmos, the national space agency.
The program has nothing to do with Hollywood sci-fi movie scenarios; no lasers, annihilators or Bruce Willis drilling a huge peace of rock rushing towards Earth.
The system will consist of a network of robotic telescopes monitoring space around our planet, some of them delivered to orbit, others operating from the surface.
Destruction of an asteroid in emergency cases may be performed by a rocket with a powerful megaton-class thermonuclear warhead. If the threat is detected early, more advanced means of changing an asteroid’s orbit may be considered.
The program costing 58 billion rubles (over $1.9 billion) has already been handed over to the head of Russia’s defense industry, Deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin who is expected to present it to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev."
Nuclear option isn't a good option. Best case you pulverize the impacter, but now it's irradiated and still coming down onto you. Only now as fallout and millions of pieces scattered over a massive area.
Railgun network is the better solution. A physical hypervelocity projectile will shatter an incoming bolide without irradiating it. Build and place them to cover an area, coupled with radar and telescopic detection nets, when detected computers auto-target and engage faster than humans could and smaller objects like the Cheryabinsk one can be dealt with.
Russia to spend billions on asteroid defense
" Moscow believes an operable national defense against threats from outer space can be built within 10 years’ time. The 500-kiloton explosion of a space bolide above the Urals region has sped-up allocation of some $2 billion to prevent future threats.
Russian scientists have presented a federal program designed to counteract space threats. Elaborated by the Institute of Astronomy at Russia’s Academy of Sciences and the Central Engineering Research Institute, Russia’s leading space industry enterprise, the program has already been approved by Roskosmos, the national space agency.
The program has nothing to do with Hollywood sci-fi movie scenarios; no lasers, annihilators or Bruce Willis drilling a huge peace of rock rushing towards Earth.
The system will consist of a network of robotic telescopes monitoring space around our planet, some of them delivered to orbit, others operating from the surface.
Destruction of an asteroid in emergency cases may be performed by a rocket with a powerful megaton-class thermonuclear warhead. If the threat is detected early, more advanced means of changing an asteroid’s orbit may be considered.
The program costing 58 billion rubles (over $1.9 billion) has already been handed over to the head of Russia’s defense industry, Deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin who is expected to present it to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev."
Nuclear option isn't a good option. Best case you pulverize the impacter, but now it's irradiated and still coming down onto you. Only now as fallout and millions of pieces scattered over a massive area.
Railgun network is the better solution. A physical hypervelocity projectile will shatter an incoming bolide without irradiating it. Build and place them to cover an area, coupled with radar and telescopic detection nets, when detected computers auto-target and engage faster than humans could and smaller objects like the Cheryabinsk one can be dealt with.
