Near-Earth Object Threat Mitigation Using a Tethered Ballast Mass

The effects of the collision of a near-earth object (NEO) with the Earth could be catastrophic on a local, regional, or global scale depending on the size of the NEO. Therefore, there is considerable interest in determining ways to mitigate the threat posed by these objects. This paper presents a method using the attachment of a tether and ballast mass to alter the trajectory of a NEO on an Earth-intersecting orbit so that it avoids hitting the Earth. Furthermore, a parametric study of such a system is conducted over a wide range of parameters that describe the orbit and the system itself. For each set of parameters, a resulting "miss distance" due to the attachment of the tether and ballast mass is calculated. The results demonstrate that such a system could be used to protect the Earth from Earth-intersecting NEOs.