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A comment on A new era for Arecibo: legendary observatory begins next phase. Parent comment

Re:A new era for Arecibo: legendary observatory begins next ... by defrost on Friday September 29, 2023 @09:44PM (#37712119)
You mean aside from the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission already launched, tested, and deemed a success?

    As a part of NASA’s overall planetary defense strategy, DART’s impact with the asteroid Dimorphos demonstrates a viable mitigation technique for protecting the planet from an Earth-bound asteroid or comet, if one were discovered.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-dart-mission-hits-as...

Sure, it's not like we have a fleet of Asteroid Redirection modules lined up ready to go .. but it is an actual capability we have and something we have already done.

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Re:A new era for Arecibo: legendary observatory begins next ... by sidewndr46 on Friday September 29, 2023 @10:03PM (#37712200)
This altered the orbit of one asteroid around another. It's moot. You have to either eliminate the asteroid (good luck) or alter it's orbit around the sun (those delta-V numbers just got huge) to be meaningful.

Suggesting we have an "actual capability" is just conjecture. It's a NASA project. According to them, the Space Shuttle was a successful program.

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