Plutonium on Next Atlas V - Bad Idea?

The next Atlas V will carry plutonium in RTGs on
the Pluto New Horizons probe.

"http://www.spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av007/050814pluto.html";

This will be the seventh Atlas V, but it will
also be the *very first* Atlas V flown in the
"551" configuration, with five solid boosters
and a five meter fairing. According to the
report above, a recent environmental impact
summary stated that the "mean probability of a
plutonium release during the flight is about
1 in 300".

Atlas V has had six successful launches, but
only three have flown with solid motors, and
there have been problems with the Atlas V solid
motor development effort. One of the early solid
motors failed during a ground test. I think I
recall reading that Aerojet has had to certify a
new "B" solid motor model to reduce acousitic
loads. No Atlas V has flown with more than three
solids to date.

This launch will have to be approved by President
Bush. I suspect we will be hearing a *tiny* bit
more about this in the coming months.

- Ed Kyle

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