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- The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration launched the Cassini space ship on October 15, 1997, on
a seven-year mission to study the planet Saturn, purportedly in the hope
of "understanding the birth and evolution of our solar system."
But by using 72.3 lbs. (32,8 kg) of radioactive Plutonium to run Cassini's
740-watt instrument panel, NASA created the possibility of unspeakable
disaster for the people (and other life) on our own planet.
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- NASA plans to accelerate Cassini by using
Earth's gravitational field on August 18, 1999, when it plans to have the
space ship approach Earth in a so-called "fly-by" at a velocity
of 10 miles per second. NASA claims that the odds against a calamitous
mishap, namely the space ship entering our atmosphere are one in a million.
But there is important evidence showing that NASA has seriously underestimated
the possibility of human or equipment error -- and the potential danger
of any accident during the fly-by maneuver.
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- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, for example,
in May 1997 reported 18 different types of malfunctions that may occur,
including electrical short-circuits, meteors or space debris striking the
space probe, and erroneous ground commands. If the craft does veer from
its course even slightly, Cassini could plunge into Earth's atmosphere
and burn up like a meteorite.
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- Cassini has more Plutonium-238 on board
than any mission before. Because of its shorter half-life, according to
physicist Dr. Kai Petzke from the Technical University of Berlin, the isotope
Pu-238 is about 280 times more radioactive than the well known bomb material
Pu-239. During atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, many tons of Pu-239
were released into the atmosphere. But because Pu-238 is so much more dangerous,
it would more than double the human-made Plutonium activity in the atmosphere
if the 400,000 Curie on board Cassini were disseminated.
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- NASA'S MISINFORMATION
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- Major flaws in NASA's Environmental Impact
Statements were exposed by the Nuclear Safety Review Panel appointed to
study the safety of Cassini. Federal regulations require a separate evaluation
whenever radioactive material is introduced into space. The panel comprised
representatives from the U.S. EPA, Dept. of Energy, Dept. of Defense, Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, and NASA. In its July 1997 Safety Evaluation Report
(SER), the panel noted at least three major discrepancies.
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- (1) The most astounding error is that
NASA claimed the Plutonium containers were "designed to withstand
re-entry" into our atmosphere. In fact, the SER noted, these holders
were NOT designed to withstand the heat of an accidental re-entry at the
planned speed of 42,300 mph (64,000 km). (2) NASA claimed that almost none
of the Plutonium could become airborne in any accident. In contrast, the
SER noted that nine kilograms could become airborne in respirable form,
the only hazardous state. (3) NASA estimated that in the event of an accident
the Plutonium could cause 120 fatal cancers. The SER estimates that "tens
of thousands" such deaths could result from a major accident.
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- NASA based its figures on the cancer-causing
potential of Plutonium on the dose from general ionizing radiation. But
the SER noted "the probability of a single inhaled particle inducing
a cancer," which NASA ignored in all its Environmental Impact Statements,
although it was reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences (April 1997) from experiments financed in part by NASA. Moreover,
even the SER fatality estimate could fall far short of the truth. The
SER fails to mention that each kilogram of Plutonium contains trillions
of radioactive atoms. The number of fatal cancers might be many times
greater than tens of thousands.
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- THE LIKELIHOOD OF RE-ENTRY
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- What are the chances of the Cassini space
probe entering Earth's atmosphere? NASA claims the odds are one in a million,
but according to renowned physicist Dr. Michio Kaku that figure is based
solely on the chance of an impact with a meteor in outer space. Meanwhile,
far greater and more likely risks are posed by mishaps such as lost radio
contact or misfired rockets. Dr. Kaku calculates the chance of a Cassini
Earth fly-by error is about 10 percent.
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- NASA has taken frightening chances from
the beginning of this mission. For example, the Titan IV rocket it used
to launch Cassini now has a 12 percent failure rate on lift-off. On April
10, 1999, military officials admitted to another mishap, a $250 million
missile-warning satellite ended up in the wrong orbit following its launch
aboard an Air Force Titan rocket. To date there have been nine documented
space program accidents that released Plutonium into our environment.
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- Cassini is expected to be travelling
around 10 miles per second for 55 days from Venus toward Earth beginning
on June 24, 1999 during the height of solar flare activity. It is expected
that a solar eruption, possibly the most severe this Century, will happen
anytime between now and January 2001. A solar eruption during its last
highpoint cycle in 1989 knocked-out power for 6 million Canadian households
and businesses. Such an impact on Cassini would fry its communication's
systems. In short, the agency has deceived the public to the real risks
of an accident, its safety record is abysmal, and yet the stakes in this
case are extremely high.
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- WHAT CAN WE DO?
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- We are reaching a point of no return:
on 24 June 1999 NASA plans to direct Cassini's final fly-by around Venus
to sling the space ship toward Earth. It is essential we all demand that
leaders internationally, and especially in the United States, intercede
in this misguided situation. Redirecting the probe in another direction
is possible. Cassini should be directed away from Earth and toward the
sun. A petition was drafted by the Cassini Redirect Coalition and it calls
for heads of state or other national leaders to make demands in the United
Nations and in the International Court to stop the Cassini Earth fly-by.
http://www.nonviolence.org/noflyby/alerts/reso1999.htm
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- The situation is extremely serious. And
the key is to respond now, while there is time to protect our world from
nuclear radioactive pollution. It's time to return to the worthy ideals
the U.S. ratified by signing the UN Treaty in 1967: "the peaceful
use of outer space." The health of ourselves and our world is on the
line.
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- Contacts
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- Jonathan Mark 978-544-7862 Action Site
to Stop Cassini Earth Flyby http://www.nonviolence.org/noflyby P.O. Box
1999 Wendell Depot, MA 01380
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- Earl Budin, M.D. 805-965-7327 Associate
Clinical Prof. Radiology UCLA Medical Center
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