Zoltan Szakaly wrote:


I wish I know more about how low DV asteroid missions could be accomplished.

Hop
http://clowder.net/hop/index.html


This could probably be accomplished using an orion type propulsion system.
We would deposit a large termonuclear bomb with a blast plate on the asteroid.
The question is if it will hold together.

Zoltan


I am not interested in substantial DV for the entire asteroid, but in DV
for importing/exporting to/from asteroid colonies. (I'm doing some comic
stories set on asteroid colonies.)

I've read in many places that DV for a sample return mission to a NEA
could be much less than a moon sample return. I can get fly bys with low
DV. But getting to the asteroid, matching velocities, and then returning
to earth seem more costly than lunar missions.

This is because the asteroids are really hauling ass at perihelion and
this seems to more than offset advantages of tiny gravity well. I
suspect and hope I'm wrong and readily admit being a rank novice.

Hop
http://clowder.net/hop/index.html