CBS's "Salvation"

Page 1 of 212>
Poll
No votes (0%)
1 vote (33.33%)
No votes (0%)
1 vote (33.33%)
1 vote (33.33%)

3 members have voted

August 2nd, 2017 at 10:08:16 AM permalink
Ayecarumba
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 89
Posts: 1744
The plots of this show circle around the drama behind the scenes when an "extinction" sized asteroid is detected on a collision course with Earth. The U.S. government has taken extraordinary measures to keep the news from leaking to the public to prevent widespread panic and the collapse of financial markets because they have a plan to deflect it, in which case no one would be the wiser. However, as always seems to happen when government is depicted on television dramas... things don't go as planned.

One of the dilemmas is the decision to use the limited time (and limited, but substantial, resources since this is supposed to be a secret) to pursue a single course of action. The question for the poll is "If it were up to you as 'Supreme Earth Commander', which would you choose?"

Big Bomb - Make a big nuclear bomb and attempt to divert the asteroid by exploding the bomb on or near the asteroid. The downside is the chance that it will not change the course of the asteroid, but break it into smaller, but still extinction causing pieces.

Gravity Tractor - Using technology that doesn't exist yet, design and build a "Gravity Tractor" to pull or push the asteroid enough to make it miss the Earth. The downside is that it may not work. The technology doesn't exist yet, is so expensive to develop that the secret probably won't be kept, and time is running out.

Move to Mars - Use all the existing resources to build lots of spaceships and move thousands of people to colonize Mars. The downside is there will be billions left behind.

August 2nd, 2017 at 10:42:56 AM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Quote: Ayecarumba
The plots of this show circle around the drama behind the scenes when an "extinction" sized asteroid is detected on a collision course with Earth. The U.S. government has taken extraordinary measures to keep the news from leaking to the public


<facepalm> Really?

It sounds even worse than the plot for "Dark Skies." Then the shtick was the government kept an ongoing alien invasion hidden, and used the Vietnam War to fund the fight against the aliens <roll-eyes>.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
August 2nd, 2017 at 10:44:24 AM permalink
ams288
Member since: Apr 21, 2016
Threads: 29
Posts: 12422
Quote: Ayecarumba
The plots of this show circle around the drama behind the scenes when an "extinction" sized asteroid is detected on a collision course with Earth. The U.S. government has taken extraordinary measures to keep the news from leaking to the public


This is the exact plot of Deep Impact.
“A straight man will not go for kids.” - AZDuffman
August 2nd, 2017 at 10:56:44 AM permalink
Ayecarumba
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 89
Posts: 1744
Quote: ams288
This is the exact plot of Deep Impact.
Hehe... That movie used a comet instead of an asteroid... but yeah, pretty much the same thing.

It's been a sci-fi plot for a long time. Remember 1951's "When World's Collide"? I thought rocket ships that launched off of big ramps were really cool.

August 2nd, 2017 at 11:08:33 AM permalink
Dalex64
Member since: Mar 8, 2014
Threads: 3
Posts: 3687
Build and deploy solar powered ion thrusters, very slowly push it outside of the planetary plane of the solar system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_thruster
"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." Daniel Patrick Moynihan
August 2nd, 2017 at 11:32:27 AM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: Ayecarumba
THowever, as always seems to happen when government is depicted on television dramas... things don't go as planned.


As opposed to real life?

Alright, what do you do. First, what would the effects of a nuke in outer space be? Would be no fireball since there would be no fire with no O2 around.. The energy might dissipate too fast in the vacuum of space to do anything. Have we ever blown a nuke up out there other than Bruce Willis when he tried this?

I think I would say "we've had a good run, crack a beer and wait for the end!"
The President is a fink.
August 2nd, 2017 at 12:37:34 PM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Quote: Dalex64
Build and deploy solar powered ion thrusters, very slowly push it outside of the planetary plane of the solar system.


Good one, but there's no need to push it out of the plane of the system. Just alter the trajectory enough, by speeding it or slowing it (depends), so it will intersect the Earth's orbit a few days sooner or later than it would have.

Other solutions include mass drivers (ejecting the asteroid's own mass at high speed), solar sails, plain old chemical rockets, and fancy nuclear rockets.

Ideally we should be able to identify most of the asteroids or comets that could intersect our world's orbit, then spend time studying them, and finally have years available in which to divert them. But for all that, save identifying them, we need a working space economy much bigger than what we now have.

Unlike most Hollywood apocalyptic scenarios, this one is real and potentially apocalyptic. A big enough impact could extinguish humanity. a slightly smaller one could extinguish civilization.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
August 2nd, 2017 at 12:43:08 PM permalink
DRich
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 51
Posts: 4944
A college roommate of mines father gained notoriety for his theory that we should blow the moon up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Abian
At my age a Life In Prison sentence is not much of a detrrent.
August 2nd, 2017 at 12:47:44 PM permalink
zippyboy
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 2
Posts: 665
Two all new episodes of salvation tonight.
August 2nd, 2017 at 4:51:38 PM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
Threads: 62
Posts: 7831
How would you get separate scientists to agree there would be impact or consequences and how could you get scientists to agree on options?

A nuclear explosion in a vacuum won't do all that much.

Smithereens blanketing the earth would yield nuclear winter.
Page 1 of 212>