Threat Mitigation The Gravity Tractor.pdfVIP

1 Threat Mitigation: The Gravity Tractor (White Paper 042) Russell Schweickart, Clark Chapman, Dan Durda, Piet Hut1 Summary: The Gravity Tractor (GT) is a fully controlled asteroid deflection concept using the mutual gravity between a robotic spacecraft and an asteroid to slowly accelerate the asteroid in the direction of the hovering spacecraft. Based on early warning, provided by ground tracking and orbit prediction, it would be deployed a decade or more prior to a potential impact. Ion engines would be utilized for both the rendezvous with the asteroid and the towing phase. Since the GT does not dock with or otherwise physically contact the asteroid during the deflection process there is no requirement for knowledge of the asteroid?s shape, composition, rotation state or other ?conventional? characteristics. The GT would first reduce the uncertainty in the orbit of the asteroid via Earth tracking of its radio transponder while station keeping with the asteroid. If, after analysis of the more precise asteroid orbit a deflection is indeed indicated, the GT would ?hover? above the surface of the asteroid in the direction of the required acceleration vector for a duration adequate to achieve the desired velocity change. The orbit of the asteroid is continuously monitored throughout the deflection process and the end state is known in real time. The performance envelope for the GT includes most NEOs which experience close gravitational encounters prior to impact and those below 150-200 meters in diameter on a direct Earth impact trajectory. I Introduction The first public presentation of the Gravitational Tractor concept was its publication in the 10 November, 2005 issue of Nature magazine, authored by Drs. Edward Lu and Stanley Love of NASA?s Johnson Space Center2. As stated in the Nature article the Gravity Tractor (GT) is ??a design concept for a spacecraft that can controllably alter the trajectory of an Earth- threaten