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The press has long known about this. There were and are a number of protests each time an RTG-based probe is launched.

If I recall correctly, the Galileo probe (around 1989) had the same problems from anti-nuke folks that feared a radiation fall-out if the shuttle exploded while bringing the satellite into space.

As did Cassini in 1997. The protesters have a point (although as ever overstate the problem) but there’s not much option for power that far out from the sun.

There was a huge outcry for Cassini's launch.

Of course, I doubt very many of those folks would own up to having been against Cassini now with all of the fantastic results we've received.

The outcry for Cassini was because they were going to use Earth for a slingshot boost. People were worried they would miss and it would crash (despite a gravitational slingshot never having failed in that way in any other launch).

In response NASA ordered Cassini to navigate slightly away from Earth, and NASA would transmit orders for it to redirect to earth at the last minute.

It made no real sense, but I suppose this way just in case NASA vanished into a alien portal Cassini would not crash into the earth :)

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