Ed Lu, astronaut, B612 Foundation [http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lu.html]

two new telescopes will be coming on line next year. this will provide 100 times more potential to observe and track asteroids. it seems that there is a good chance that we will be hit by a big asteroid, one that is about 1km in diameter, within the next 15 years. see [http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn9257-rubbly-itokawa-revealed-as-impossible-asteroid.html].

there are two types to be concerned about. one is the 'virgin' newtonian path and the other is the keyhole path.

what are the options?
1. explosion to cahnge the delta V. a few years ago we actually shot a comet in space. 'Deep Impact on Comet Tempel 1' [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/deepimpact/main/index.html].
2. Gravitational Traction. hover a space station to tow the asteroid. gravity is the towline.

the Deflection Campaign
1. discover - preliminary orbit determination
2. transponder - measure orbit accurately
3. if keyhole - gravity tractor tow
4. if primary deflection - kinetic impactor or nuclear
5. transponder - measure again to asses
6. if keyhole - gravity tractor tow

B612 Foundation [http://www.b612foundation.org/index.html]