[ExI] Mining the Sky SL Talk I gave today

[samantha]

Damien Broderick wrote:
> On 4/26/2010 2:19 PM, spike wrote:
>>> >  You're mining an asteroid of mostly iron anyway?  Build a
>>> >  disposable re-entry shell, then nudge the shell into a
>>> >  decaying, Earth-entry orbit...
>>
>> Cool idea, especially if we can manage to do the re-entry without a 
>> control
>> system and without a thruster, which would be useless without a control
>> system.  Then the challenge becomes finding the thing.  Without a control
>> system, and assuming a re-entry body made entirely from on-orbit material
>> and assuming reentry by atmospheric decay of the orbit (no parachute or
>> thrusters available) the uncertainty in landing means it could land 
>> anywhere
>> on the globe.
> 
> Years ago people were talking about shaping asteroid ore into lifting 
> bodies and firing them at Earth. No controls, as I recall. Given the 
> computerized systems needed to get the orbiter down, I assume this is 
> pretty far fetched (as Spike implies).

So it is not possible to de-orbit an object like an asteroid in such a 
way as to ensure that it lands in some fixed size deserted area?   I 
don't see why this would be so.


- samantha