Planetary Defense and an Energy Infrastructure for Near Earth Space

Richard Fork, Luke Burgess, Grant Bergstue and Randy Gaillard

University of Alabama Huntsville

The White House Office of Science and Technology (OSTP), in response to recent Congressional action, assigned NASA the task of: "(A) protecting the United States from a near- Earth object that is expected to collide with Earth; and (B) implementing a deflection campaign, in consultation with international bodies, should one be necessary." This directive also recognized that the preferred means of planetary defense remain to be determined. A "functional analysis" of the task was recommended.

As a contribution to such an analysis we consider a planetary defense strategy that also serves a function of current economic value. We suggest using lasers in space for both planetary defense and also for a space energy infrastructure that will reduce the current cost of lift to orbit, remove debris from space, assist in rescuing astronauts in difficulty, and deliver energy to other resources in space, and possibly, even eventually to Earth. Lasers are unique in the ability to generate substantial energy in states of the optical field that also have the minimum possible uncertainty in space and in time. Lasers, however, have not, and are unlikely in the foreseeable future, to transmit energy at levels useful for a terrestrial energy infrastructure. Neither optical fiber nor the atmosphere is supportive of the levels of transmitted energy needed for an energy infrastructure on Earth.

In space, however, lasers can support such an energy infrastructure. Lasers are arguably the only practical means in the foreseeable future of generating such an energy infrastructure in space. We consider here a rudimentary system of lasers located on multiple small spacecraft applied to both planetary defense and also to an energy infrastructure in near Earth space. We calculate, e.g., the time required for a system of small spacecraft to change the path of an asteroid.

Presented at ISDC 2011 - Huntsville. Paper and presentation charts are not available.