Asteroid redirection and soft-landing systems are provided that use cosmic ray and muon-catalyzed micro-fusion. These systems include a micro-fusion propulsion system providing thrust for redirecting a small asteroid, as well as providing a particle cushion at a landing site for a soft-landing. The systems deploy deuterium-containing fuel material as a localized cloud interacting with incoming ambient cosmic rays to generate energetic fusion products. Dust or other particulate matter in the fuel material converts some cosmic rays into muons that also catalyze fusion. The fusion products provide thrusting upon the asteroid. The fusion products also aid deceleration of incoming asteroids to be mined for a soft landing upon a lunar or planetary surface.

Asteroid redirection and soft-landing systems are provided that use cosmic ray and muon-catalyzed micro-fusion. These systems include a micro-fusion propulsion system providing thrust for redirecting a small asteroid, as well as providing a particle cushion at a landing site for a soft-landing. The systems deploy deuterium-containing fuel material as a localized cloud interacting with incoming ambient cosmic rays to generate energetic fusion products. Dust or other particulate matter in the fuel material converts some cosmic rays into muons that also catalyze fusion. The fusion products provide thrusting upon the asteroid. The fusion products also aid deceleration of incoming asteroids to be mined for a soft landing upon a lunar or planetary surface.

A method is provided for calculating the bursting point of at least one projectile fired at a target object, involving measuring the position of the projectile, estimating the position of the projectile, estimating the speed of the projectile, measuring the position of the target object, estimating the position of the target object, estimating the speed of the target object, calculating optimal bursting points for the projectile based on the estimated position of the projectile, the estimated speed of the projectile, the estimated position of the target object and the estimated speed of the target object, and communicating the bursting points for the projectile to the projectile. A computer program, a computer system, and a weapons system are also provided.

Asteroid redirection and soft-landing systems are provided that use cosmic ray and muon-catalyzed micro-fusion. These systems include a micro-fusion propulsion system providing thrust for redirecting a small asteroid, as well as providing a particle cushion at a landing site for a soft-landing. The systems deploy deuterium-containing fuel material as a localized cloud interacting with incoming ambient cosmic rays to generate energetic fusion products. Dust or other particulate matter in the fuel material converts some cosmic rays into muons that also catalyze fusion. The fusion products provide thrusting upon the asteroid. The fusion products also aid deceleration of incoming asteroids to be mined for a soft landing upon a lunar or planetary surface.

Asteroid redirection and soft-landing systems are provided that use cosmic ray and muon-catalyzed micro-fusion. These systems include a micro-fusion propulsion system providing thrust for redirecting a small asteroid, as well as providing a particle cushion at a landing site for a soft-landing. The systems deploy deuterium-containing fuel material as a localized cloud interacting with incoming ambient cosmic rays to generate energetic fusion products. Dust or other particulate matter in the fuel material converts some cosmic rays into muons that also catalyze fusion. The fusion products provide thrusting upon the asteroid. The fusion products also aid deceleration of incoming asteroids to be mined for a soft landing upon a lunar or planetary surface.

A terraforming installation has a set of one or more bases to facilitate localized heating of a polar icecap in the presence of ambient flux of cosmic rays and muons. Each base includes equipment for deploying deuterium-containing particle fuel material over and onto the polar icecap, the material interacting with the ambient flux of cosmic rays and muons to generate kinetic-energy-containing products. The equipment may include any of one or more guns for projecting shells, orbital platforms releasing packages, and rovers dispersing the fuel material over designated areas of a polar ice cap. In one embodiment, a package of deuterium-containing particle fuel material is in the form of an artillery shell comprising a shell wall encasing the fuel material with a fuse and chemical explosive charge activated by the fuse to disperse the material at a targeted location and altitude. In another embodiment, local space heating units use micro-fusion reactions from disks coated with the particle fuel material to radiate thermal energy onto the icecap surface.

An initiator assembly includes an initiator housing having an initiator cavity and a housing orifice edge. A bridge substrate is positioned within the initiator cavity, the bridge substrate includes a substrate base including a uniform first planar surface and first and second bridge contacts flush with the uniform first planar surface. The first and second bridge contacts form a continuous planar mounting surface. An explosive charge and a flyer plate are within the initiator cavity, the flyer plate interposed between the explosive charge and the bridge substrate. A plunger head is telescopically received in the initiator cavity and includes an anchoring cylinder face having a face perimeter and extends between first and second face ends. The housing orifice edge is anchored to the anchoring cylinder face at a position between the first and second face ends and extends around the face perimeter.

An initiator assembly includes an initiator housing having an initiator cavity and a housing orifice edge. A bridge substrate is positioned within the initiator cavity, the bridge substrate includes a substrate base including a uniform first planar surface and first and second bridge contacts flush with the uniform first planar surface. The first and second bridge contacts form a continuous planar mounting surface. An explosive charge and a flyer plate are within the initiator cavity, the flyer plate interposed between the explosive charge and the bridge substrate. A plunger head is telescopically received in the initiator cavity and includes an anchoring cylinder face having a face perimeter and extends between first and second face ends. The housing orifice edge is anchored to the anchoring cylinder face at a position between the first and second face ends and extends around the face perimeter.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a programmable system for a munition, comprising: an electroacoustic transducer, arranged to receive an acoustic signal comprising data, and convert that signal into an electrical signal comprising data; a processor, arranged to receive and process the electrical signal comprising data, and to use that data in programming of the programmable system.

A weapon may comprise an explosive charge, an activatable detonation ignition means, an activatable deflagration ignition means, and an ignition device. The ignition device can activate, selectively, the detonation ignition means or the deflagration ignition means. The activated detonation ignition means can cause the explosive charge to detonate. The activated deflagration ignition means can cause the explosive charge to deflagrate. According to one method, the ignition device activates the detonation ignition means, which causes the explosive charge to detonate. If a predetermined event takes place without the explosive charge detonating, the ignition device activates the deflagration ignition means, which causes the explosive charge to deflagrate.