PI -- Multimodal Planetary Defense
Philip Lubin

TL;DR
This paper proposes a versatile planetary defense system using small hypervelocity penetrators capable of disassembling asteroids across various warning times, significantly reducing required launch mass and response time compared to classical methods.
Contribution
It introduces a novel, single-system approach employing hypervelocity penetrators for rapid and long-term asteroid mitigation, adaptable to different threat sizes and warning scenarios.
Findings
Effective against 20-1000m asteroids with short and long warning times.
Can mitigate a 20m asteroid with 100s warning using 10m/s disruption.
Potential to eliminate asteroid impact threats with existing launch vehicles.
Abstract
We present a practical and effective method of planetary defense that allows for extremely short mitigation time scales if required as well as long time scale mitigation. This one system allows for virtually any required defense mode. In general, it uses much less launch mass with vastly shorter required response time than classical deflection techniques The method uses an array of small hypervelocity kinetic penetrators that pulverize and disassemble an asteroid or small comet. This approach works in both long warning time, as well as in short warning scenarios with intercepts of minutes to days before impact. In longer time intercept scenarios, the disassembled asteroid fragments largely miss the Earth. In short intercept scenarios, the asteroid fragments of maximum 10-meter diameter allow the Earth's atmosphere to act as a "beam dump" with fragment burn up and/or air burst,…
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Taxonomy
TopicsSpace Satellite Systems and Control · Spacecraft Design and Technology · Satellite Communication Systems
