New Directions in Asteroid Deflection using Nuclear Explosives by David Dearborn, Peter Schultz, and Wayne Ulrich
Dearborn, David¹; Schultz, P²; Ulrich, W^3
1LLNL; ²Brown University; ³DTRA

Our previous work studied the use of nuclear explosives to divert 1-km sized asteroids on earth impacting orbits. We considered both standoff bursts for cases with decades of warning as well as surface bursts to disperse a body when time was short (< a decade). The standoff bursts were capable of changing the bodies speed by 1-2 cm/s, while the bodies gravitational potentials retained 98% of the original mass. Less than 10-4 of the dispersed material remained on an orbit that passed within 5 earth radii. With only a few years to impact, surface bursts were capable of reducing to material that threatens the earth by a factor of 100,000.

Following ideas presented in NASA s Near-Earth Object Survey and Deflection study we have extended this work to consider the effect of a very low yield surface bursts as a means to deflect an asteroid without dispersing it. Sub-kiloton nuclear technology has the potential to provide an effect very similar to a massive kinetic impactor, but with payloads under 100 lbs. Additionally, our previous work has been limited to a single inhomogeneous (Tuff/Granite) spherical structure. We have now begun a collaboration to investigate a broader range of structures, shapes, and compositions, as well as a range of nuclear device types.