Russian astronomers express concern over Russia's aged space tracking network and their inability to detect and track small asteroids.
A leading space scientist is warning that small asteroids from space that detonate like bombs as they crash into Earth's atmosphere might accidentally set off a nuclear war.
Researchers have determined, with the assistance of US military satellites, that the risk of Earth being struck by a killer asteroid is less likely than previously believed.
Data from U.S. early warning satellites helps lower forecast for asteroids exploding in Earth's atmosphere.
The editors of Florida Today argue that the U.S. defense department should share its early warning data with new nuclear powers to help prevent miscalculations caused by meteor impacts.
U.S. Defense Department satellites have confirmed that an asteroid struck a remote region of Siberia.
Scientists warn that even small asteroids that explode in earth's atmospher pose a threat because they could be mistaken as a nuclear weapon explosion by countries that lack the technology to tell the difference. They point to a June 6th incident that could have created a miscalculation during a tense period in the India/Pakistan conflict.
U.S. Brigadier General Simon P. Worden makes a case for sustained military involvement in the search for potentially hazardous asteroids. He argues that military technology is key to detecting small to medium-sized asteroids that could be misperceived as nuclear explosions in volatile areas.
In recent years, the Department of Defense has been working to provide data about asteroid strikes to nations potentially under missile attack and to the scientific community; however, it takes several weeks for the data to be released since much of it is gathered from classified systems. Brigadier General Simon P. Worden has recently suggested that a NEO warning center be established that can assess and release this data as soon as possible to all interested parties while ensuring sensitive data is safeguarded.
The U.S. Space Command is reviewing a plan to create a clearinghouse that gathers and analyzes data regarding impending Earth impacts from asteroids or comets. The information node would also assess possible damage stemming from an incoming object. Such a clearinghouse, if established, would merge military and civilian talent to help minimize damage and loss of life due to a strike from space.