Mission Design and Analysis for Suborbital Intercept and Fragmentation of an Asteroid with Very Short Warning Time

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Hupp, R. Craig Dewald, Spencer Barbee, Brent W.
Copyright Year	2014
Abstract	impact scenarios. In this paper we explore the lower bound on actionable warning time by investigating the performance of notional upgraded Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) to carry Nuclear Explosive Device (NED) payloads to intercept and disrupt a hypothetical incoming NEO at high altitudes (generally at least 2500 km above Earth). We conduct this investigation by developing optimal NEO intercept trajectories for a range of cases and comparing their performances. Our results show that suborbital NEO intercepts using Minuteman III or SM-3 IIA launch vehicles could achieve NEO intercept a few minutes prior to when the NEO would strike Earth. We also nd that more powerful versions of the launch vehicles (e.g., total V 9.5{11 km/s) could intercept incoming NEOs several hours prior to when the NEO would strike Earth, if launched at least several days prior to the time of intercept. Finally, we discuss a number of limiting factors and practicalities that aect whether the notional systems we describe could become feasible.
File Format	PDF HTM / HTML
DOI	10.2514/6.2014-4460
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://www.adrc.iastate.edu/files/2011/07/AIAA-2014-4460.pdf
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20140017799.pdf
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2014-4460
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article