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The Cassini space probe executed a flyby maneuver around the Earth on August 18, 1999 at 3:28 A.M. GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), which was on August 17, 1999 at 8:28 P.M. PDT. This probe is carrying a record amount 72.3 lbs (32,8 kg) of deadly plutonium on board approached Earth at record speeds in excess of 81,000 mpn (133,150 km). Those at greatest risk were at the southern hemisphere, since NASA made the closest approach point at an altitude of 1166 km (725 mi) over the eastern south Pacific at -23.5 degrees latitude and 231.5 degrees longitude. The spacecraft may have been visible from small islands in that area, such as Pitcairn Island or Easter Island. 137 W longitude and 23.5 S latitude over the South Pacific Ocean.

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According to the NASA Environmental Impact Statement, in the event of a collision with our atmosphere this mission has the potential to expose five billion people to 99% or more of the radiation from the plutonium. Thus, there is the possibility of releasing 400,000 Curies of plutonium in fine particles throughout our atmosphere. This would more than double the human-made plutonium activity in the atmosphere!

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There is a debate among scientists about how damaging low level radiation is to the human body. NASA claims that only "2,300 health effects could occur over a 50-year period". Dr. Ernest Sternglass, professor emeritus of radiological physics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine said that "they underestimate the cancer alone by 2,000 to 4,000 times." According to Dr. Sternglass, there have been recent studies showing that low-levels of radioactivity are disproportionately more damaging than high levels.


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This Website was designed to be a source of information and to coordinate actions to help expand public awareness about the dangers of the Plutonum space program and the Cassini space probe's flyby of Earth.

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This page was last revised 9/1/99 6:15:42 PM by The NoFlyby Webmaster

This site was hosted on The Nonviolence Web, and is now hosted on www.FlyByNews.com. NoFlyby is also affiliated with The Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space.

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