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posted by on Wednesday April 26 2017, @10:49PM   Printer-friendly
from the this-is-why-we-can't-have-nice-things dept.

From the expensive toy breaking folks over at NASA:

"Cassini's up-close exploration of Titan is now behind us, but the rich volume of data the spacecraft has collected will fuel scientific study for decades to come," said Linda Spilker, the mission's project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

The flyby also put Cassini on course for its dramatic last act, known as the Grand Finale. As the spacecraft passed over Titan, the moon's gravity bent its path, reshaping the robotic probe's orbit slightly so that instead of passing just outside Saturn's main rings, Cassini will begin a series of 22 dives between the rings and the planet on April 26. The mission will conclude with a science-rich plunge into Saturn's atmosphere on Sept. 15.

Look, guys, if it's a driving ability problem I'll be happy to come over and show you now to not run into a gigantic planet...


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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday April 26 2017, @10:54PM

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Wednesday April 26 2017, @10:54PM (#500404) Journal

    Milestones: Cassini's First Grand Finale Dive: Milestones [nasa.gov]

    -- No earlier than around midnight PDT on April 26 (3 a.m. EDT on April 27): Earth has its first opportunity to regain contact with Cassini as the giant, 230-foot (70-meter) Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, California, listens for the spacecraft's radio signal.

    -- Likely no earlier than 12:30 a.m. PDT (3:30 a.m. EDT) on April 27: Images are scheduled to become available from the spacecraft.

    Previously: Cassini's Final Flyby of Atlas [soylentnews.org]

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