Plutonium was jettisoned into the sea by the stricken Apollo 13 after its aborted moon mission. The ill-fated Challenger had been slated to carry deadly plutonium on a scheduled mission that would have followed the January 1986 launch that ended in tragedy. Even as far back as 1964, an aborted space mission carrying a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator had resulted in a reentry burn-up over Madagascar, releasing plutonium later found all over the world.
Why aren't people up in arms about these gambles, especially now as the Trump administration prepares to invest in space shots to Mars loaded with mini nuclear reactors and propelled by plutonium powered rockets? One journalist has covered these risks for decades -- Beyond Nuclear board member, Karl Grossman. Linda Pentz Gunter writes about his lonely quest for attention to these reckless endeavors in a December 29, 2017 Truthtout article. Read more.