Summary
October 1997 launch of a Cassini space probe which will carry 732.3 lbs of potentially dangerous plutonium: includes information on anti-launch activities - Cover Story
The launch of Cassini on a Titan IV rocket is causing grave concerns worldwide. Titan mishaps and explosions of other NASA rockets at launch have happened. If Cassini explodes, the carcinogenic plutonium-238 fallout could devastate billions of people. Nuclearization of space is another concern.See the full content of this document
Extract
NASA's nuclear gamble.
In October, NASA is planning to launch the Cassini space probe to Saturn. The probe will carry 72.3 pounds of plutonium, the most ever put on a space device.
Plutonium is the most toxic substance known. "It is so toxic," says Helen Caldicott, president emeritus of Physicians for Social Responsibility, "that less than one-millionth of a gram is a carcinogenic dose. One pound, if uniformly distributed, could hypothetically induce lung cancer in every person on Earth." NASA intends to launch Cassini on October 6 on top of a Lockheed Martin Titan IV rocket. Titan rockets have had a series of mishaps, including a 1993 explosion in California that occurred less than two minutes after the launch. The blowup destroyed a $1 billion spy-satellite system. Fragments from the satellite fell into the Pacific Ocean. If the Cassini probe blows up, we will be in a he...See the full content of this document
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