Rotational Mass Driver —
an Efficient NEO Deflection Concept
Z. M. Ilitz
Subotica, Serbia
Abstract:
There is an Olympic athletic discipline - throwing of a ball on a chain. This paper explores the possibility of using the same method for asteroid deflection. Instead of a chain, however, a tether (or a rope) must be used.
As it turns out, the method has many merits. It offers high precision and controllability, is safe, efficient, and has a wide applicability range.
The performance envelope for the rotational mass driver specifically covers binaries, rubble piles, and large objects on a direct collision course that need a V of cm/s. The method is comparably efficient to nuclear methods, but is much safer.*
* Editorial note: The concept presented in this paper merits interest, but as pointed out in several footnotes, it may be difficult to put into practice with some efficiency.
Key words:
Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), Near Earth Objects (NEOs), rotational mass driver, NEO deflection concept, method for asteroid deflection, high precision, controllability, wide applicability range, binaries, rubble piles, large objects, direct collision course, efficient to nuclear methods.