[CPEO-MEF] Plutonium powered Launch to Pluto, Kennedy Space Center FA

[Christine Ziebold <zieb0031@umn.edu>]

NASA plans to launch 24 pounds of plutonium (pu-238 & pu-239) on a New
Horizons mission to the planet Pluto. The launch is set to lift-off
on/after January 11, 2006 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The
plutonium will be used in a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) to
convert the heat from the radioactive decay of the plutonium into on board
electricity.
The Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space urging the
public (in the U.S. and worldwide) to contact NASA, Congress, and send a
Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper stating your opposition to
this launch. See contact information below and also talking points to make.
Please help to spread the word by passing this e-mail on to others in your
community. NASA and Congress must hear that the public does not support
launching more nuclear materials into space.

Write to:
Michael Griffin
NASA Administrator
300 E. Street SW
Washington DC 20546
(202) 358-0000
mgriffin@mail.hq.nasa.gov <mailto:mgriffin@mail.hq.nasa.gov>
U.S. Congressional Switchboard: (Toll-free number) 1-888-355-3588

Talking Points 

1) NASA acknowledges in their Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the
New Horizons mission that there is a 1 in 300 chance of an accident
resulting in release of the plutonium. In the event of such an accident the
EIS states that the deadly plutonium could be carried by winds for a
60-mile
radius throughout Central Florida. Clean-up costs for a plutonium accident
would range from $241 million to $1.3 billion per square mile.

2) NASA is moving toward a dramatic escalation in the numbers of nuclear
launches in the coming years. Everything from nuclear powered bases on the
moon to nuclear reactors on rockets to Mars. The Department of Energy (DoE)
is now doing a $300 million laboratory expansion in Idaho to produce
plutonium for future space missions.

3) The Pentagon has long stated that they will require nuclear reactors to
provide power for space-based weapons. NASA says that each of its space
missions will now be dual use, meaning military and civilian at the same
time. The obvious next question is what is the military application for
nuclear power in space?

4) At a time of major fiscal crisis in the U.S. why is NASA using public
tax
dollars to put the lives of the people on Earth at risk?

5) Why does NASA not invest in development of alternative space power
technologies and move away from the use of deadly plutonium?

Thank you for your support.
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 729-0517
(207) 319-2017 (Cell phone)
-----------------
Christine Ziebold, Minneapolis

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