On Nov 18, 10:50*am, Chris L Peterson wrote:
On Thu, 18 Nov 2010 03:28:06 -0800 (PST), wrote:
There were several accidents involving nuclear-equipped spacecraft
with what seem to have been, in retrospect, benign outcomes WRT
nuclear contamination. *These occurred before the Cassini and New
Horizons protests. The engineers were well aware of potential dangers
and designed accordingly, without input from the protesters.

I didn't say the engineers weren't aware of the potential dangers, nor
that they in any way had bad designs. I was only pointing out that
gadflies can actually provide some service in bringing these kinds of
things to the public eye

Innumeracy is still the affliction of the mentally weak. The
inability to appreciate the odds of an accident are so low they aren't
worth worrying about. Nitwits insist we go through terahertz airport
scanners and get patted down, all on the off chance that 1 in 350
MILLION might die in a terrorist act. If dying from any cause truly
worries anyone, then get the F--- out of your CARS because you have a
FAR higher chance of injury or death from that.