First private deep space mission will search for Earth-destroying asteroids

Ars Technica writes, Credit: B612 Foundation and Ball Aerospace The B612 Foundation announced the first privately Funded Deep Space Mission yesterday morning. It's called Sentinel, a half-meter infrared telescope designed to look for any asteroids whose orbits will cross the Earth's in the next hundred years. Construction is expected to begin this fall, and the nearly-complete design will be similar to the already-successful Spitzer and Kepler telescopes, albeit smaller. It's still 1 1/2 tons and 25 feet tall. The prime contractor will be Ball Aerospace, contractor for Spitzer and Kepler. The B612 Foundation began...

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