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Article: Saturn bound: Cassini, on its way to Saturn, will come close to Earth in 1999 - and that has some people worried.(plutonium in space probe's batteries raises controversy)
- Article from:
- Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- November 14, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Weekly Reader Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.--Cassini is gone now--floating in the vast, dark sea of space between Earth and Venus. Its instruments are turned off; its internal lights dimmed; its power supply barely vibrating.
The great spacecraft blasted off from Cape Canaveral on Oct. 15 with a blaze of orange flame and an equally great blaze of controversy. Protesters tried to block the liftoff. Editorials were written in support of and against Cassini's space mission.
What caused all the controversy is the 72 pounds of highly poisonous plutonium aboard the spacecraft. The plutonium will be used to power Cassini's batteries during its seven-year, 2.2-billion-mile mission ...