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NASA is planning a 1997 launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
of a space probe with 73 pounds of deadly plutonium aboard. As Dr. Helen
Caldicott, founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, writes about
plutonium in her book Nuclear Madness: "It is so toxic that
less than one-millionth of a gram, an invisible particle, is a carcinogenic
dose. One pound, if uniformly distributed, could hypothetically induce
lung cancer in every person on Earth."
Yet NASA would load 73 pounds of plutonium on what it calls the Cassini mission to explore Saturn!
How could the plutonium be released and kill people? There are two key periods of extreme danger:
1.) The Cassini probe is to be taken into space in October 1997 on a Titan IV rocket — the same kind of rocket that on August 2, 1993 exploded over the Pacific Ocean destroying its secret payload, a $1 billion spy satellite system. But if this Titan IV rocket explodes on the launch pad or in the atmosphere, it won't just be pieces of metal and plastic that are scattered for miles. This time it could be the lethal plutonium that is spread far and wide from this Chernobyl of a space probe.
2.) If there is no mishap during the launch, the Cassini probe will be sent off into space once the Titan IV achieves orbit. Because Cassini's propulsion source doesn't have the power to send it straight to Saturn, NASA plans to send it to Venus first, and then, after two swings around Venus, have Cassini and its 73 pounds of plutonium hurtle right back towards Earth. The idea is to use the Earth's gravity to increase Cassini's velocity so it can pass by Jupiter and then go to Saturn. Cassini is to pass just 320 miles above Earth in what NASA calls a "slingshot maneuver" and "fly-by." But too deep a descent could cause Cassini to disintegrate in the Earth's 75-mile-high atmosphere. Then, according to City University of nuclear physics professor Dr. Michio Kaku, the plutonium—"the most toxic chemical known to science"—would "shower down on Earth with devastating results."
Can Cassini's mission be performed safely-without plutonium? Sure, says Dr. Kaku and others. The plutonium, placed in three radioisotope thermal generators (RTG's) is only to be used as a power source to produce electricity for instruments on the probe, not for propulsion. They say that if NASA had the will, the needed electricity could be obtained through solar energy gathered by photovoltaic panels on Cassini and when the sun is too distant, from long-lived fuel cells.
After the launch of the Galileo space probe to Jupiter in 1989, government-financed studies performed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and obtained by New York investigative reporter Karl Grossman acknowledged that the Galileo mission could have been achieved with solar energy substituting for plutonium-generated power.
But NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), DOE's national nuclear laboratories and the corporations which have been involved in producing nuclear hardware for space missions insist on sticking with plutonium, for Cassini.
Since the 1960's the U.S. has launched 24 devices carrying nuclear material into space. Three have met with accidents; hardly a good record. The Cassini probe will be carrying the largest amount of plutonium ever sent into space. The potential for the greatest space accident ever—one that would make the tragic Challenger accident seem minor—is before us.
Some members of Congress are questioning the Cassini mission because of its whopping cost — $3.4 billion in tax dollars. But not just dollars are at risk. The Cassini should be canceled because of its enormous threat to life!
It's high time plutonium-bearing space launches such as the 1997 mission be challenged. Write to President Clinton. Write to your Congressional representatives. Work to stop Cassini!
Saturn will be around for many years. Let's explore it and the rest of the universe safely — not by endangering millions of lives on Earth.
For further information write or call the Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice, P.O. Box 90035, Gainesville, Florida 32607. (352) 468-3295.
Join forces with THE SUN in getting the word out to your communities.
THE SUN will be sponsoring a rally in August '97 to STOP this dangerous
launch (details to follow in next month's issue). WHAT YOU CAN DO .
. . Circulate a petition to call upon NASA and our elected officials
to suspend plans to launch the Cassini space probe. See Sample Below:
We, the undersigned, call upon NASA and our elected officials to suspend plans to launch the Cassini space probe to Saturn as long as any plutonium is scheduled to be on board. Presently, the project calls for 73 pounds of pluto- nium 238 to generate on-board electricity. The risk of an accident at launch or during its "slingshot fly-by" above the Earth is not worth the gamble. We urge the use of alternative on-board power sources such as solar energy and long-life fuel cells for all future deep space missions.
Name |
Address |
1. ________________________________ |
________________________________________________________ |
2. ________________________________ |
________________________________________________________ |
3. ________________________________ |
________________________________________________________ |
4. ________________________________ |
________________________________________________________ |
5. ________________________________ |
________________________________________________________ |
(TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: IN VOLUME 22 OF CALIFORNIA
SUN AN UPDATE REPORTED THE FOLLOWING.)
On March 25, 1997, the Marin County, California Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pass a resolution calling on NASA to cancel the Cassini space mission as long as plutonium is used as an on-board power source.
Activists in England and Germany are now undertaking nationwide postcard
campaigns to President Clinton, since he has final launch authority over
Cassini. . . .
(TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS FROM A LETTER
BY CALIFORNIA SUN PUBLISHER/EDITOR NICOLE SHOONG IN VOLUME 22.)
With great appreciation, I write these thoughts to you this month. I stand in the knowing that I often seem radical or a bit 'out there' in the urgency or the issues at hand. Maybe I'm Paul Revere 'in drag,' riding my horse and frantically delivering papers to every Middlesex village and farm. I feel that I'm being driven by an inner voice, constantly whispering, ". . . print millions of copies each month; print in many languages; the people want to know the truth, need to know the truth. They will take action once they know."
Truly so . . . if we're not aware our ancient Redwood trees are in danger or that organic farm soil is toxic or that NASA plans to launch a Mission with 73 pounds of plutonium on board . . . how can we possibly all rally together to stop these horrific acts? We are the people who created this Garden of Eden. We are the Keepers of this Sacred Planet.
I take full responsibility for every thought I think, every word I speak and every action I make. In so doing this very simple intention, we become an empowerment of what ever that intention is.
It is the intention of the CALIFORNIA SUN to bring the people together
in love and divine grace. To create a civilization of responsible people
who love and support each other with great respect for all living creatures.
In so doing, we are living each day in a holy communion with our Mother
. . . our Earth.
(TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: THE CALIFORNIA SUN IS FREE INSIDE THE PUBLICATION'S DISTRIBUTION AREA IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE $26 PER YEAR AND $48 PER YEAR INTERNATIONAL. TO SUBSCRIBE, SEND CHECK MADE PAYABLE TO CALIFORNIA SUN AND INDICATE NAME, ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER; MAIL TO CALIFORNIA SUN, P.O. BOX 944, OJAI, CA 93024 (805) 646-3187. EMAIL ADDRESS: calsun@west.net)
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