IPB

Welcome Guest ( Log In | Register )

9 Pages V  « < 5 6 7 8 9 >  
Reply to this topicStart new topic
Cassini's Extended-Extended Mission, July 2010-June 2017
ngunn
post Feb 4 2010, 02:25 PM
Post #91


Senior Member
****

Group: Members
Posts: 3516
Joined: 4-November 05
From: North Wales
Member No.: 542



A generous lifespan - an immortal legacy - what more could anybody wish for?
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Hungry4info
post Feb 4 2010, 02:49 PM
Post #92


Senior Member
****

Group: Members
Posts: 1413
Joined: 26-July 08
Member No.: 4270



Definitely! I'm excited about the news!

Another thing to keep in mind, MahFL, is contamination. Enceladus became a very attractive target for astrobiology since the arrival of Cassini. It would be a shame of biological contaminants were to be accidentally introduced onto Enceladus from Cassini though an impact in the distant future. Depositing the spacecraft into Saturn is like throwing away a used band-aid. Nothing you can do with it anymore, and you don't want to risk bio-contamination. This helped motivate the Galileo plunge into Jupiter, avoid contamination of Europa.

Can we expect any science from Cassini during the Saturn plunge?


--------------------
-- Hungry4info (Sirius_Alpha)
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Juramike
post Feb 4 2010, 03:08 PM
Post #93


Senior Member
****

Group: Moderator
Posts: 2785
Joined: 10-November 06
From: Pasadena, CA
Member No.: 1345



QUOTE (Hungry4info @ Feb 4 2010, 09:49 AM) *
Can we expect any science from Cassini during the Saturn plunge?


Absolutely!!

Cassini might get to actually taste Saturn's atmosphere on it's way in. Check out this repost here.


--------------------
Some higher resolution images available at my photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31678681@N07/
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Decepticon
post Feb 4 2010, 09:26 PM
Post #94


Senior Member
****

Group: Members
Posts: 1276
Joined: 25-November 04
Member No.: 114



Are there any close or non targeted flybys of Hyperion in the XXM?
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Bjorn Jonsson
post Feb 4 2010, 10:58 PM
Post #95


IMG to PNG GOD
****

Group: Moderator
Posts: 2250
Joined: 19-February 04
From: Near fire and ice
Member No.: 38



QUOTE (Decepticon @ Feb 4 2010, 09:26 PM) *
Are there any close or non targeted flybys of Hyperion in the XXM?

RTFM ;-)

This link was posted in this thread earlier today:
http://www.mpi-hd.mpg.de/cassini/xxm/SM-7/SM-7_all.txt
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Tom Tamlyn
post Feb 4 2010, 11:51 PM
Post #96


Member
***

Group: Members
Posts: 443
Joined: 1-July 05
From: New York City
Member No.: 424



Some questions about Cassini's final maneuvers.

John Spenser's description on Emily's blog states that a final Titan fly-by will perturb Cassini's orbit into a narrow cloud-scraping orbit inside the ring system. After 23 orbits, "a final distant nudge from Titan on September 11, 2017 delivers the death blow, altering the orbit just enough to drop Cassini into Saturn on September 15."

Is that final nudge a pure gravitational perturbation, or is it assisted by Cassini's propulsion system? How far away will Titan be when it delivers the fatal nudge?

TTT
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
john_s
post Feb 5 2010, 12:14 AM
Post #97


Member
***

Group: Members
Posts: 695
Joined: 3-December 04
From: Boulder, Colorado, USA
Member No.: 117



That's a purely gravitational nudge from Titan- no propellant required. That final "close" approach to Titan will be at a range of 86,000 km.

John
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
dmuller
post Feb 5 2010, 12:16 AM
Post #98


Member
***

Group: Members
Posts: 340
Joined: 11-April 08
From: Sydney, Australia
Member No.: 4093



QUOTE (Bjorn Jonsson @ Feb 5 2010, 09:58 AM) *
This link was posted in this thread earlier today:
http://www.mpi-hd.mpg.de/cassini/xxm/SM-7/SM-7_all.txt

I have used that file in my timeline, hence you can also search my website by target: http://www.dmuller.net/spaceflight/target....target=hyperion



--------------------
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Tom Tamlyn
post Feb 5 2010, 05:44 AM
Post #99


Member
***

Group: Members
Posts: 443
Joined: 1-July 05
From: New York City
Member No.: 424



Some more questions about Cassini's final plunge.

Is it expected that the vessel will be completely vaporized as it flames through the upper atmosphere, or are some pieces likely to survive to continue their descent at a stately terminal velocity?

If the latter, will the remnants continue to sink until they are vaporized in Saturn's hot core, or will they survive, highly compressed but still distinct objects, bobbing away in some cooler region of the atmosphere?
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
NickF
post Feb 5 2010, 10:02 AM
Post #100


Member
***

Group: Members
Posts: 107
Joined: 29-January 09
Member No.: 4589



I've also wondered about the question Tom raises.

Fascinating to think that the Pu in Cassini's RTGs will be the heaviest constituent atoms of Saturn for the for the foreseeable future smile.gif



--------------------
Protein structures and Mars fun - http://www.flickr.com/photos/nick960/
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
MahFL
post Feb 5 2010, 11:15 AM
Post #101


Forum Contributor
****

Group: Members
Posts: 1372
Joined: 8-February 04
From: North East Florida, USA.
Member No.: 11



I know it makes scense to plunge into Saturn, my original comments were more a knee jerk reaction on hearing they were going for the plunge. rolleyes.gif
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
CAP-Team
post Feb 5 2010, 07:01 PM
Post #102


Member
***

Group: Members
Posts: 146
Joined: 23-August 06
From: Vriezenveen, Netherlands
Member No.: 1067



I think it's a sad thing to crash a spacecraft like Cassini into Saturn.
I remember that when Cassini was developed many options were mentioned, like orbiting Titan or swing te spacecraft out of the Saturn system in an orbit around the sun.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
djellison
post Feb 5 2010, 07:07 PM
Post #103


Founder
****

Group: Chairman
Posts: 14431
Joined: 8-February 04
Member No.: 1



By making the most of what Cassini was designed to do ( orbit Saturn and observe it's system ) I assume they've traded any possible outside-of-the-box fates for Cassini for just more Saturn observations, assuming the XXM will use up the vast majority of remaining fuel.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Phil Stooke
post Feb 5 2010, 07:08 PM
Post #104


Solar System Cartographer
****

Group: Members
Posts: 10121
Joined: 5-April 05
From: Canada
Member No.: 227



Yes, sure, CAP-Team, but the science is inferior. Here we will get the mass of the rings, chemistry of the upper atmosphere of Saturn, the manetic field at very low altitudes, plus great ring/inner moon imaging opportunities. Escaping Saturn gives us nothing, and I think it was already found to be too difficult to get into Titan orbit, plus inferior science (a bit on Titan but nothing on the rest of the system.

Phil


--------------------
... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.

Also to be found posting similar content on https://mastodon.social/@PhilStooke
NOTE: everything created by me which I post on UMSF is considered to be in the public domain (NOT CC, public domain)
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
rlorenz
post Feb 5 2010, 07:13 PM
Post #105


Member
***

Group: Members
Posts: 609
Joined: 23-February 07
From: Occasionally in Columbia, MD
Member No.: 1764



QUOTE (CAP-Team @ Feb 5 2010, 02:01 PM) *
I think it's a sad thing to crash a spacecraft like Cassini into Saturn.
I remember that when Cassini was developed many options were mentioned, like orbiting Titan or swing te spacecraft out of the Saturn system in an orbit around the sun.


Well, a lot has happened since Cassini was developed.... in fact, one of the driving
considerations behind the end-of-mission scenarios is to avoid even the small
probability of hitting Europa (qv Galileo). Dumping your RTG-powered spacecraft in
a giant planet avoids lawsuits, terrorist threats, and planetary protection issues.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post

9 Pages V  « < 5 6 7 8 9 >
Reply to this topicStart new topic

 



RSS Lo-Fi Version Time is now: 19th March 2024 - 02:53 AM
RULES AND GUIDELINES
Please read the Forum Rules and Guidelines before posting.

IMAGE COPYRIGHT
Images posted on UnmannedSpaceflight.com may be copyrighted. Do not reproduce without permission. Read here for further information on space images and copyright.

OPINIONS AND MODERATION
Opinions expressed on UnmannedSpaceflight.com are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of UnmannedSpaceflight.com or The Planetary Society. The all-volunteer UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderation team is wholly independent of The Planetary Society. The Planetary Society has no influence over decisions made by the UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderators.
SUPPORT THE FORUM
Unmannedspaceflight.com is funded by the Planetary Society. Please consider supporting our work and many other projects by donating to the Society or becoming a member.