In the movie Contact, a NASA scientist obsessed with the pursuit of rigorous truth is confronted with the possibility that, beyond her physical and constructed universe, there is God. Art, as usual in Hollywood, has little to do with life. In real life, NASA is God.

And God, alas, is in one of her "what the hell" moods this month, as NASA puts the lives of every creature on earth--particularly those in Florida-- at needless risk.

The issue is the scheduled Oct. 13 launch of the planetary probe Cassini from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Cassini will be carrying 72.3 pounds of plutonium, the deadliest substance known, as fuel, atop its eminently combustible booster rockets. (For details, see "How NASA Could Doom Life On Earth This October," ETS! #41, June 17.)

Depending on the week, NASA's risk assessments of Cassini disaster vary between "one in a million" and "one in 743." (The chance of a Challenger explosion was 1 in 100,000.) Those numbers, however, are virtually meaningless: extrapolations of flawed assumptions by scientists with a deep faith in their technology. They beg the larger questions: why is NASA taking such an insane risk when alternative solar fuel technologies are easily available, and why isn't this a bigger story?

Well, it is a big story, but it's not getting aired. 60 Minutes (on CBS, owned by nukemaker Westinghouse) waited weeks to air its story. Mainstream press accounts have focused on NASA and the White House casually dismissing "alarmist" concerns. But the White House has been flooded with complaints, and some lawmakers are now calling for the launch to be halted. Bill Clinton is the only person with legal authority to stop it.

He's unlikely to. Cassini is the wedge for an administration plan to launch over a dozen such nuclear-payload flights in coming years--most with classified, military missions. Read: Star Wars. Bill Clinton is, in the complete absence of a credible threat that would require a planetary anti- missile defense system (and assuming one would work), still spending over $4 billion a year chasing Ronald Reagan's pipe dream. The reasons? Contractor greed, and the goal of U.S. military dominance of space--useful for mining on the moon or Mars, useful for satellites and communications protection, and useful for attacking any stray corner of the planet that resists the global corporate throne. Questioning Cassini throws the whole scheme into doubt.

In this context it makes sense for Clinton to risk the lives of Floridians, or the whole Northern Hemisphere; heck, the U.S. already does that with nuclear weapons. It also makes sense to redouble our efforts to stop the launch, and future ones. Call, write, fax, e-mail. Demand that Cassini be stopped!

--Geov Parrish

There will be a Stop Cassini! theatre & demonstration in Seattle, in conjunction with actions in Florida and across the U.S.: Sat. Oct. 4, 1:00 PM at Westlake Park. For more info call 206-547-0952.