spacetoday.net: Cassini arrives at Saturn

Posted: Thu, Jul 1, 2004, 10:56 AM ET (1456 GMT)
Cassini enters orbit around Saturn (NASA/JPL)

The Cassini spacecraft entered orbit around Saturn late Wednesday night, ending a nearly seven-year journey from Earth. Spacecraft controllers received data from the spacecraft at 12:12 am EDT (0412 GMT) Thursday that the spacecraft completed a 96-minute engine burn designed to place the spacecraft into orbit around Saturn. The spacecraft passed through a gap between the planet's F and G rings shortly before the engine burn started, and mission officials said the passage resulted in no apparent damage to the spacecraft. Cassini was launched in October 1997 and followed a circuitous route to Saturn, performing flybys of Venus, Earth, and Jupiter, using those gravity assists to propel the spacecraft towards its final destination. Cassini will now spend at least the next four years studying Saturn and its moons. On December 25 Cassini will release the European-built Huygens probe, which will descend into the atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, in January.