AAS 97-102

SHORT RESPONSE TIME OPTIONS FOR IMPENDING ASTEROID COLLISION

D. G. Tuckness, Jr. and T. McGaha, The University of Texas at Arlington

Abstract

The impact of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter brought the danger of asteroid or comet collision to the forefront. In this paper, a survey is made of U.S. ICBMs and SLBMs, using published figures for range and payload to estimate the maximum altitudes attainable, and hence the maximum intercept distances. Then, estimates are made both for the V required to achieve a "clean miss" and for the V capabilities for a single missile. Finally, various intercept strategies will be investigated, from sequential strikes to a full time-on-target salvo.