SpaceX missiles can catch up with interplanetary asteroids

SpaceX's company can be used to chase the first interstellar asteroid to visit the solar system.

SpaceX's BFR missile can carry the probe into chase, a star-studded asteroid crossing the Earth last month, Space.com reported on November 28.

'Oumuamua is the first interstellar asteroid to travel to the solar system.(Photo: ESO).

The 'Oumuamua asteroid 400 meters long is flying away from Earth at a speed of 93,600km / h or 26km / s. This speed is faster than any spacecraft ever took off on Earth. However, theoretically, the use of BFR missiles in SpaceX's development process can help us catch up with Oumuamua, according to research published in arXiv.org magazine.

The study was conducted based on the assumptions made by Lyra scientists at the Keck Space Research Institute (KISS) and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, USA.

The authors of the BFR missile technology calculation can allow spacecraft to reach 70km / s. When launched in 2025, the vessel is able to complete the 85 AU range in 2039. AU is an acronym for astronomical units, ie the distance between the Earth and the Sun, corresponding to 150 million kilometers.

"The mission can still come true with more modest numbers, like the speed of 40 km / s to complete the 155 AU mileage in 2051," the team said.

Simulation of asteroids' Oumuamua.(Video: ESO).

BFR is not the only option for the mission 'Oumuamua. Laser push as in can also perform the task. But Starshot's engineering team estimated that the probe needed at least 20 years to be ready to operate if the project progressed smoothly, thus unable to meet the launch schedule in 2025.

"An important result from our analysis is that Breakthrough Starshot project has enough flexibility to react quickly to future unexpected events, such as launching a series of probes to the next object like ' With the current infrastructure, the probe can access 'Oumuamua within a year ,' the researchers said.