[TML] Solution to the near-c rock question

[Jerry W Barrington]

On 2/1/08 3:58 PM, "Brad Murray" <bjmurray.halfjack at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Feb 1, 2008 12:34 PM, Jerry W Barrington <jursamaj at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Err... gravitationally?  How big a package you sending?
> 
> 20 tons or so.  Big for a scientific package but not logistically
> impossible.  You need to carry a bunch of fuel anyway.  With a year or
> two's lead time you don't need all that big a vector to miss an earth
> sized object.
> 
> Not my idea, of course:
> 
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/09/AR200511090220
> 4.html

The theory works great.  But I'm not sure about a 20 ton weight exerting
1/40,000th of a G.  And it's hover thrusters would need to be directed away
from the asteroid, or they would impact it and at least partially counter
the pull.