08-November-2006, 05:55 PM
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Vulcan Moderator
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Greenbelt, MD
Posts: 24,227
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What to do with Cassini
Death of a Spacecraft: The Unknown Fate of Cassini
Quote:
The Cassini spacecraft is roughly halfway through its looping voyage of the Saturn system and is continuing to return a bounty of data on the ringed planet and its moons. Yet all journeys must have an end and Cassini's eventual fate is now being discussed.
"Current planning is for a two year mission extension that ends on July 1, 2010," said Robert Mitchell, NASA's Cassini mission program manager. "However, presuming that the spacecraft continues to function well, it's reasonable to expect that one or more further extensions will be supported."
Sometime around 2012, Cassini, like the ocean-going ships of old, will need to be decommissioned. However, the spacecraft cannot be towed to some nearby shore to be dismantled; she must either drop anchor, be scuttled, or cast off her gravitational moorings altogether.
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I like the idea of whacking it into Mercury.
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