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US DOD FIREBALL RELEASE

 
>> NASA would just LOVE to spend more in an asteroid detection program.
>> Congress just never funds them, and that is where the real problem is.

>   Went up to the hearing last Thursday and the 
>Representatives thought that they had given NASA
>enough money for this and that they had told NASA
>to do it 5 years ago but NASA had spent the money 
>elsewhere.  I personally think Dan Goldin is doing
>a great job, but on this one item NASA's performance
>has been less than stellar.

5 years ago?  Congress works on the budget a year at the time, not
5 years.  Five years is longer than the terms of most members
in Congress.  The point is, the asteroid program has been underfunded.
Case in point, a report was presented to Congress by NASA in 1995 for
a NEO program that cost only about $5 million year.  Congress did not
fund it.  The report is still online here:

ftp://galaxy.hq.nasa.gov/pub/Solar/neo_rpt.htm

>>>I think that if Titans werew used to launch NASA's >small probes to
>>>asteroids and comets, this 
>>>would give the AF the experience it needs for planetary
>>>defense at a pretty reasonable cost, though still in 
>>>the $200-$400 million range.
> 
>> The military have already attempted an asteroid mission
>> and failed: Clementine.  Clementine did have a successful moon
>> mapping mission, but they lost the spacecraft due to human error
>> before it could reach asteroid Geographos.  The sad part is the human
>> error could of easily been avoided.  They sent a wrong command to
>> the spacecraft which caused it to expend all of its remaining
>> propellant and spin out of control.  All command sequences should
have 
>> been tested on the ground first before they were sent to the
spacecraft.

>  Even more reason to give them some more practice!
>Imagine the headline: "AF interceptor to Earth 
>approaching asteroid lost due to human error."  

Instead of giving the Air Force billions of dollars just so 'they can
practice', I'd rather see a cooperative effort between the AF and NASA.
NASA has proposed such in the previously mentioned report.
NASA have already successfully sent spacecraft past asteroids and comets, 
and have several more like missions coming in the next 5 years.
There is no need to duplicate effort.

Ron Baalke