The impact of an asteroid could be deflected by the “hijacking” of television satellites – study

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An asteroid, rushing towards Earth and impacting the planet is one of the most devastating disasters that could happen, and this scenario and the various means of combating it are a staple of the many science fiction series or films aired at television.

But satellites capable of making those same broadcasts just might be the things that can save the planet.

According to a study by European company Airbus Space, television broadcast satellites can be easily and quickly hijacked and turned into a means of deflecting an incoming asteroid.
Despite the seemingly distant nature of a possible asteroid collision, the scenario is far from unlikely. Astronomers around the world, including NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), are working to monitor all nearby asteroids and calculate their trajectory to see if any of them constitute a threat to the planet.

And asteroids have already hit the planet. The most famous incident in recent memory was the Tunguska event of 1908, when an asteroid exploded above the Earth’s surface in part of Russia. Although not having a direct impact on the planet itself, the asteroid’s strength was still devastating, being one of the largest explosions in history, flattening approximately 80 million trees in an area over 2,100 square miles.

And while it was the most devastating, it was not the most recent. In 2013, still in Russia, another asteroid exploded 14 miles above the Earth’s surface. The asteroid was about the size of a house, traveled over 11 miles per second, and exploded with the force of around 440,000 tons of TNT. The shockwave shattered windows over a distance of 200 square miles, damaged buildings and injured approximately 1,600 people. The fact that this has happened has made it even more important for experts to find solutions to stop asteroids.

While the most popular solution presented in science fiction is the use of nuclear weapons, this is far from ideal, as it would still rain an explosion of rocks on Earth and cause significant destruction.

One solution proposed by NASA’s PDCO and Johns Hopkins University is the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission, which proposed to send a rocket at an asteroid to use the speed and its impact to modify the trajectory of the asteroid very slightly. ‘an asteroid, enough to launch it of course.

Or, put it simply, hitting it with a rocket with enough speed to change its direction by a fraction of a percent.

One of the leading scientists on it, Andy Rivkin, even wrote a song about it.

The DART mission is expected to be tested in the fall, with the specialized spacecraft to be launched and directed at an asteroid far removed from the Didymos asteroid system – which poses no threat to Earth. He is expected to arrive and complete his mission by September 2022.

Another similar initiative was considered by the National Space Science Center of China, where researchers found in simulations that 23 Long March 5 rockets hitting simultaneously could deflect a large asteroid from its original path by a distance of 1, 4 times the radius of the Earth.

But these two initiatives come with a fatal problem: they take time to put in place. And in the event of a crisis, a faster, more ad hoc solution may be needed.

In total, the European Space Agency (ESA) deduced that only six months would be needed to launch such a mission to stop an asteroid.

And that’s exactly what Airbus is proposing in its Fast Kinetic Deflection (FastKD) study.

A satellite should be hijacked, or rather reassigned, for this work. This would require modification, but such satellites are regularly built or are under construction, so they are frequently available. These satellites are big enough on their own and scientists would only need to add two things: a special kinetic deflection (KD) module and a smaller “piggyback” satellite.

The module in question would have a separate means of propulsion and a dedicated navigation system to help keep the approach to the asteroid precise. The mini-satellite would be equipped with a camera in order to observe and confirm the success of the mission.

Just like with DART, it’s not about trying to destroy an asteroid, it’s about redirecting it.

“If you calculate the global scenario,” said Albert Falke, who led the Fast Kinetic Deflection (FastKD) study at Airbus, in a statement posted on the Airbus website, “with an asteroid still three years away from possible impact, we have a whole six months to react and launch the mission – including political decision-making. ” After launch, there is a flight phase of six to eighteen months to reach the asteroid at a great distance from Earth, collide with it and thus deflect it.

“The ‘hijack’ scenario would offer the fastest possible launch readiness, but at the same time requires a lot of preparation,” Falke continued, meaning that a tested module would still have to be on standby.

The need for an asteroid defense system might not seem so crucial, especially after NASA announced Earth was free from any risk of asteroid impacts for the next 100 years. But more and more asteroids are being discovered every day, and many more are still approaching Earth. On July 12 alone, two airplane-sized asteroids are expected to fly relatively close to the planet.

But while the risk isn’t immediate, it never hurts to be prepared.

Reuters contributed to this report.



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