Asteroid Deflection: Lasers & Satellites

Engineers Set Their Sights On Asteroid Deflection

ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2012) — Pioneering engineers at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow are developing an innovative technique based on lasers that could radically change asteroid deflection technology.

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The research has unearthed the possibility of using a swarm of relatively small satellites flying in formation and cooperatively firing solar-powered lasers onto an asteroid -- this would overcome the difficulties associated with current methods that are focused on large unwieldy spacecraft.

MORE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120327124241.htm

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