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Johnson-Freese, Joan. The Viability Of U.S. Antisatellite Policy: Moving Toward Space Control. USAF Academy, CO: USAF Institute for National Security Studies, January 2000. [ 1 reference ]

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Clementine 2 Program Showed Usefulness of Anti-Satellite Weapons Research for Defending Earth Against Asteroids

 

Clementine 2 was originally scheduled for launch in 1998. It would have been the first mission specifically intended to study asteroids from an impact mitigation perspective. As pointed out earlier, targeting an asteroid involves many of the same technical issues as targeting a satellite. The space probe was to be built by the Air Force, and at one point was provided $120 million toward achieving its goals, and fit with instrument-packed three-foot-long missiles. Those missiles were to be released into the path of two asteroids selected by NASA: 1986JK, a halfmile wide chunk of rock to be encountered in May 2000; and Toutatis, an asteroid about two miles across, to be intercepted about five months later. The instrumented missiles would first take close-up pictures and make scientific measurements before slamming into their targets. The idea was to provide scientists with information about strength and make-up of the objects, specifically vital to understanding how to counter a potential Earth-impact, as well as to gain information on targeting space objects generally. ( More ... )

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Johnson-Freese, Joan. The Viability Of U.S. Antisatellite Policy: Moving Toward Space Control. USAF Academy, CO: USAF Institute for National Security Studies, January 2000. [ 1 reference ] [ page 21 ]

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