Title: Landing screw-rockets array on asteroids, digging soil and fueling engines in phase, to overcome the spin and to fly in space

Authors: D. Fargion

(Submitted on 12 May 2007)

Abstract: To deflect impact-trajectory of massive km^3 and spinning asteroid by a few terrestrial radiuses one need a large momentum exchange. The dragging of huge spinning bodies in space by external engine seems difficult or impossible. Our solution is based on the landing of multi screw-rockets, powered by mini-nuclear engines, on the body, that dig a small fraction of the soil surface, to use as an exhaust propeller, ejecting it vertically in phase among themselves. Such a mass ejection increases the momentum exchange, their number redundancy guarantes the stability of the system. The soft landing of engine-unity may be easely achieved at low asteroid gravity. The engine array tuned activity, overcomes the asteroid angular velocity. Coherent turning of the jet heads increases the deflection efficiency. A procession along its surface may compensate at best the asteroid spin. A small skin-mass (about 2 10^4 tons) may be ejected by mini nuclear engines.

Such prototypes may build first save galleries for humans on the Moon. Conclusive deflecting tests might be performed on remote asteroids. The incoming asteroid 99942 Apophis (just 5% of km^3) may be deflected safely a few Earth radiuses. Its encounter maybe not just a hazard but an opportunity, learning how to land, dig, build and also to nest save human station inside. Asteroids amplified deflections by gravity swing maybe driven into longest planetary journeys.

Comments:

28 pages, 5 figures

Subjects:

Astrophysics (astro-ph)

Cite as:

arXiv:0705.1805v1 [astro-ph]

Submission history

From: Daniele Fargion [view email]

[v1] Sat, 12 May 2007 23:50:03 GMT (353kb)

http://arxiv.org/abs/0705.1805