Delivered Volatile Coatings as a Sublimation Propellant: Repeated Applications on a 100-Metre Asteroid

This paper computes a deflection system that deposits 52,000 kg of volatile material on the sun-facing surface of a 100 m asteroid of mass 837,758,041 kg and lets sunlight sublime it, the escaping gas leaving at 610 m per second with an alignment efficiency of 0.58. Each application delivers 22 mm per second, and 3 applications deliver 65.9 mm per second against a requirement of 21.2 mm per second for a 7,500 km displacement with eight years of warning, a margin ratio of 3.1 and a computed separation of 23,286 km. This is a computed study of a deflection system for planetary defence, with no targeting or weapon application. It is simulated, not measured.