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### What would be the most fuel-efficient propulsion solution to accelerate a 100-ton piece of NEO asteroid towards Earth?

Question has been edited since this answer was posted, making it no longer valid. With 2020 era tech 'most fuel efficient' with a nuclear reactor available is probably some form of ion engine. Taking ...
• 18.4k

### Lorentz force space propulsion

The same theory they use to predict the effect has been mathematically proven to conserve energy and momentum. In short, no correct application of electromagnetic theory can result in prediction of a ...

### Lorentz force space propulsion

The linked paper looks very bogus. Electromagnetic propulsion by itself is nothing unusual. Pushing against the Earth's magnetic field or similar can very well be used to generate some mild thrust. ...

### Thrust to weight of large solid fuel boosters

SLS booster weight 1,6 pounds. Thrust 3,6 million pounds thrus to weight is 2,25? It is reasonable to assume solid rocketboosters are close to eachother. Also would belive NASA made it effecient as ...
1 vote
Accepted

### Can Nuclear Pulse Propulsion (Project Orion) accelerate a 100,000 ton M-type (metallic) asteroid to a LEO?

Pulling some numbers from project Rho which appear to be quoting the original studies, we get 16M Newton from a 5kt device onto a 20 meter pusher plate. This assumes optimal plate design that a random ...
• 18.4k
1 vote

### Can Nuclear Pulse Propulsion (Project Orion) accelerate a 100,000 ton M-type (metallic) asteroid to a LEO?

Doesn't matter if you could, you're going to find every major military power in the world on your doorstep telling you that it's absolutely unacceptable and they're prepared to use whatever force it ...
• 11.1k

Apparently, this is a popular school project. You can try to follow this example: https://www.instructables.com/Ion-Thruster/

### If specific impulse is directly related to exhaust velocity, would a ion post-accelerator improve the Isp of a propulsion system?

Well yes, but with massive caveats, specific impulse is basically just a hack so people taking in different unit systems don't get mixed up about exhaust velocity: $Isp = v/g$ This comes out the same ...
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