[TML] Solution to the near-c rock question

[Brad Murray]

On Jan 31, 2008 11:38 PM, Jerry W Barrington <jursamaj at yahoo.com> wrote:
> On 1/31/08 7:12 AM, "shadow at shadowgard.com" <shadow at shadowgard.com> wrote:
> Starting a month out, a 1 m/s shove gives you almost 2600 km.  Obviously,
> longer lead-time give better results with less delta-V needed, but I don't
> think you need years.  Depends on your tech, of course.

I think the point is that with a couple of years you can do it
trivially -- you can send out a package with just enough fuel to get
there, match orbit, and station keep, pack it with amusing scientific
instruments and maybe some ballast, and use its mass to deflect the
asteroid gravitationally.

You even get a bunch of observations for free out of the deal.

-- 
Brad Murray (halfjack)