The gas idea is interesting, and gave me another idea. Assuming that you could track an object, I wonder how much much you could slow down/redirect debris using

The gas idea is interesting, and gave me another idea. Assuming that you could track an object, I wonder how much much you could slow down/redirect debris using air resistance. The idea would be to fill a balloon with air, and then release the air at exactly the right moment just as the debris is passing. The air shoots out into the vacuum right into the path of the oncoming debris. If you got the timing and positioning just right, you could probably both slow down and redirect the debris earthward. These things could use their pressurized air for maneuvering themselves, and given that they just use air itself, you could probably devise an efficient means of refueling them via some kind of weather balloon thing where you'd refill at high atmosphere without having to go all the way back to earth. I have no idea what I'm talking about really, but its a sort of interesting concept...