Russian scientists are planning to tweak their ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) to target near-earth objects
(NEOs), according to a report by news agency TASS. The news came from
Sabit Saitgarayev, the leading researcher at the Makeyev Rocket Design
Bureau. The projectiles could be aimed at meteorites measuring 20-50
meters in size. A meteorite is a chunk of debris that can originate
from a sun-orbiting asteroid and survives the trip through the
atmosphere to reach Earth’s surface.
The
scientists plan to test their missiles on the asteroid 99942 Apophis,
which Saitgarayev believes may pass “dangerously close” to Earth in
2036. There is a general consensus as to this expected close encounter,
though NASA has “effectively ruled out the possibility” of an impact.
The
lead scientist explains the reasoning behind his team’s work. “Most
rockets work on boiling fuel,” Saitgarayev says. “Their fueling begins
10 days before the launch and, therefore, they are unfit for destroying
meteorites similar to the Chelyabinsk meteorite in diameter, which are
detected several hours before coming close to the Earth. For this
purpose, intercontinental ballistic missiles can be used, which requires
their upgrade.”
Saitgarayev
says that modifying the solid-fueled ICBMs will require several million
dollars and permission from the authorities. These are weapons of war,
after all. It is unclear whether or not this project will ever come to
fruition, though the work has already begun.
The
Makeyev Design Bureau was established on December 16, 1947. The company
specialized in developing long-rockets designed by the OKB-1
(Experimental Design Bureau), which was led by pioneering rocket
designer Sergei Korolov. It was under Korolov’s direction that Russia
launched the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957, and
put the first man in space in 1961. In the mid-1950s, Maketev OKB began
developing submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Today, its rockets are
used to launch Russian satellites into space.
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