course_planning:183_projects:s20_week_9_problems

This is an old revision of the document!


Project 8: Part E: Space Force Defense

The newly established and totally needed “space force” is in a precarious situation. Their newly established space station is under threat of an asteroid hitting it. A renowned scientist, David Lightman, approaches you to solve the problem and tells you that there is a defunct Earth defense floating space station that is very far from Earth which can be hacked into. You have been tasked with operating this projectile defense system (PDS for short). PDS has the ability to launch defense projectiles from the space station headquarters (positioned at the center of the space station) to divert incoming attack projectiles (asteroids heading for the space station). Before the first firing of a projectile from the defense system, Dr. Lightman would like to see a simulation showing how the incoming attack projectile's motion can be changed by the defense projectile to be sure that you can be trusted with the PDS.

  • The mass of a defense projectile is about 20kg, made out of sticky Space Clay™.
  • The average mass of an attack projectile is about 5 times that of a defense projectile, usually made of a solid metallic material.

Complete the code below to simulate before and after an interception (collision) for a worst case scenario: an attack projectile being launched directly towards headquarters at its largest ever recorded velocity 225,400,0m/s from its closest ever recorded position 500,900,0m. For this worst case scenario defense to be successful, you must push the incoming attack projectile back along its incoming path so that its velocity is 450,800,0m/s. Your code should be general enough to handle other attack and defense projectile initial conditions.

Furthermore, the Department of Projectile Energy (DoPE) would like a report on the loss of kinetic energy during the collision as it interested in further harnessing the power of the PDS once this asteroids problem is over. Develop a graph to help answer how much energy is lost.

https://www.glowscript.org/#/user/paul.w.irving/folder/Public/program/SpaceStationCollision

Project 9: Launching Communications Probe

  • course_planning/183_projects/s20_week_9_problems.1596075674.txt.gz
  • Last modified: 2020/07/30 02:21
  • by pwirving