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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)

From: Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication  |  Date: 11/14/1997

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 ...

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