This paper aims to investigate the ballistic kinetic impactor (B-KI) in order to mitigate the risks posed by a potential asteroid collision on Earth in the future. The B-KI is a spacecraft that employs a single impulsive thrust to put the spacecraft into an orbit, which, in turn, impacts the target asteroid to deflect it from the collision route of Earth. To evaluate the effectiveness of the B-KI, we introduce impact-geometry maps (IGMs), which visualize the achievable change in the orbital energy of the asteroid as a function of the spacecraft’s semi-major axis and eccentricity. The achievable performance of the B-KI is investigated in the form of its mobility capability on the IGM. In addition, parameters that govern the mission’s feasibility, such as the spacecraft’s relative impact speed and phase angle, are discussed. We conducted a parametric study on the asteroid’s orbital elements and found that the B-KI is, in fact, a better option for deflecting asteroids belonging to the Aten family at the intersection point where the radial velocity component is positive. We also designed several fictional B-KI missions to achieve a more realistic asteroid mitigation campaign scenario. The obtained results are compared with those of previous kinetic impactor studies that employ low-continuous-propulsion systems. The study finally highlights that the B-KI can efficiently increase the impact efficiency and deflection distance for a part of the target asteroids.

本文旨在研究弹道动力学撞击器（B-KI），以减轻未来因小行星撞击地球而带来的风险。B-KI是一架采用单一脉冲推力的航天器，将航天器送入轨道，这反过来又撞击目标小行星，使其偏离地球的碰撞路线。为了评估B-KI的有效性，我们引入了碰撞几何图（IGM），该图将小行星的轨道能量可实现的变化可视化为航天器半长轴和偏心率的函数。以B-KI在IGM上的移动能力的形式来研究其可实现的性能。此外，还讨论了控制任务可行性的参数，例如航天器的相对撞击速度和相角。我们对小行星的轨道元素进行了参数研究，发现B-KI实际上是在径向速度分量为正的交点处偏转属于Aten族小行星的更好选择。我们还设计了一些虚构的B-KI任务，以实现更现实的小行星缓和战役方案。将获得的结果与先前采用低连续推进系统的动力学冲击器研究的结果进行比较。该研究最终强调，B-KI可以有效提高部分目标小行星的撞击效率和偏转距离。在径向速度分量为正的交点处偏转属于Aten族小行星的更好选择。我们还设计了一些虚构的B-KI任务，以实现更现实的小行星缓和战役方案。将获得的结果与先前采用低连续推进系统的动力学冲击器研究的结果进行比较。该研究最终强调，B-KI可以有效提高部分目标小行星的撞击效率和偏转距离。在径向速度分量为正的交点处偏转属于Aten族小行星的更好选择。我们还设计了一些虚构的B-KI任务，以实现更现实的小行星缓和战役方案。将获得的结果与先前采用低连续推进系统的动力学冲击器研究的结果进行比较。该研究最终强调，B-KI可以有效提高部分目标小行星的撞击效率和偏转距离。