Asteroid-Hunting Near-Earth Object Surveillance Satellite Into Space

[marcus300]

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013...-tech-headline



A suitcase-sized satellite will be launched on Monday to help in our search for deadly asteroids.

The launch comes just two weeks after a dramatic meteorite impact in Russia injured 1,200 people.

The Near-Earth Object Surveillance Satellite is being launched by the Canadian Space Agency.

NEOSat will try to find and track huge rocks hurtling through space that could endanger Earth. It will also look for space debris in Earth's orbit which could be a threat to satellites and rockets.

The satellite will be able to monitor space in front of the sun - something which is very difficult for ground-based telescopes.

"The project with the CSA is essentially to survey the sky and get the best, improved near-Earth asteroid population and the ones that can sometimes cross Earth orbit," said Denis Laurin, a CSA space astronomy program scientist, reported Space.com.

The satellite cost $25 million, and will orbit the Earth every 100 minutes at an orbit of about 497 miles.

[Rwy]

so i guess there really are no lasers up there

[marcus300]

so i guess there really are no lasers up there

Doesnt sound like it, maybe in a James Bond movie

[Times Roman]

so i guess there really are no lasers up there

we have no capability of detering collisions with near earth objects, beyond launching nukes, which we know nothing of how it will improve/reduce our chances of surviving impact and the subsequent aftermath.

[HitIt]

Doesnt sound like it, maybe in a James Bond movie

[Zodiac82]

when I saw your thread I figured it was going to be about the one they were gonna send up to collide with an asteroid