Edward Tagliaferri became a consultant to the aerospace industry in July of 1992. He has a Master’s in math and a PhD in physics from the University of California, Los Angeles. Most of the work has done involves satellites, space travel and asteroids.
He has been chairman of several committees including the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the Space Systems Technical Committee (SSTC).
You may have seen Dr. Tagliaferri on TV news reports about asteroids or Discovery Channel’s “Asteroid.”
Asteroids are thought to be primordial material prevented by Jupiter’s strong gravity from accreting into a planet-sized body when the solar system was born 4.6 billion years ago. It is estimated that the total mass of all asteroids would comprise a body approximately 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) in diameter — less than half the size of the Moon.unity.
~ Excerpt from the NEAR press kit.