[extropy-chat] space: a novel approach to the NEO problem

[Robert J. Bradbury]

On Fri, 21 May 2004, Eugen Leitl wrote:

> While we might be able to do that, many many years downstream (after we have
> proper early warning, and intercept system) there just no such capability
> present right now, or for the next twenty (thirty, future is hazy)
> years, for that matter.

Allright, I'm going to take my head in my hands and offer it up
on a silver platter (from some movie I saw many years ago involving
bringing the head of "John the Baptist" on a silver platter...)
At any rate I do not interject into Eugen's opinions lightly...

*But* we do *clearly* have the detection capability currently.
This is a simple matter of building enough telescopes to do the
observations.  In fact there is a rather big sticky point
between the Air Force and NASA in that NASA is funded to
identify all of the NEOs which represent a threat but the
Air Force using CCDs produced at Lincoln Labs has a much
higher identification rate.  Of course NASA cannot get access
to the LL CCDs because they are for classified purposes...

[Note -- this analysis on my part is a couple of years old --
things may have changed -- so buyer beware.]

Robert