"I've seen that movie... It hits Paris.." Quote - Jack O'Neill
I suppose the near earth pass is something to put on the Astro-Calendar...
Im pretty sure between now and then they could rustle up an oil rig drilling crew, load them onto a pair of super shuttles and split this rock in two with a thermonuclear weapon well before the fail safe point, and get most of the crew home safely... Probably all bar one person who would have to stay behind to detonate the warhead because as murphy's law would have it, the remote detonation controller would be damaged somehow during the mission..
hahah...