[X] My Assistant

[pioneer]

According to this press release, Cassini will fly 25 Km from the surface of Enceladus in October I know the escape velocity of Enceladus is low, but just how close can Cassini come to the surface without the gravity pulling it in? What is the escape velocity of Enceladus?

[volcanopele]

I'm busy at the moment, but can someone do a quick calculation on how close Cassini has to come to Enceladus to get the equivalent of a Titan flyby (1000 km) in terms of a gravity assist. Basically, what is the distance from Enceladus where the gravitational force is equal to that of Titan's at a distance of 1000 km?

[ugordan]

I don't think the "same gravity force" and "same gravity assist" are equivalent. My ballpark calculation says you need to get 35.3 times closer to the center of Enceladus to feel the same gravitational force (rather than same trajectory bending) as during a Titan approach of 1000 km (which translates to 3576 km from Titan's center). That gives 101 km flyby distance to Enceladus' center.

So... yeah, lithobraking.

[MahFL]

16 miles is a bit close isn't it ? You'd feel pretty stupid if a navigation error resulted in a collision.........