A Centrifugal Regolith Sling on a 290-Metre Asteroid: Rotational Ejection as a Deflection Engine

This paper computes a surface installation that excavates regolith from a 290 m asteroid of mass 26,178,603,603 kg and releases it tangentially from a rotor of radius 46 m turning at 1.15 radians per second, giving a tip and ejection speed of 52.9 m per second. At a mass flow of 0.09 kg per second the sling produces 4.76 N and an acceleration of 1.82e-10 m per second squared, drawing 157.4 W. Over 6 years it delivers 34.4 mm per second against a requirement of 21.6 mm per second for a 10,500 km displacement with eleven years of warning, a margin ratio of 1.59, a computed separation of 16,735 km and a total ejected mass of 17,041,104 kg. This is a computed study of a deflection system for planetary defence, with no targeting or weapon application. It is simulated, not measured.