This paper reports on the orbit determination performance for the final 1.5 years of the Cassini Solstice mission, including the mission’s Grand Finale. During this period, Cassini encountered its final eleven targeted flybys of Titan (T116-T126) and executed its last 62 orbits of Saturn. In these final months, the spacecraft’s inclination was gradually raised from near equatorial to near 63 degrees, critical inclination, to prevent the line of apsides from rotating out of Titan’s orbital plane. Critical inclination enables continued Titan flybys, the last of which places Cassini on an impact trajectory with Saturn, thereby satisfying planetary protection requirements. In this reporting period, the orbit period moved from 16 days to nearly 32 and, for the final 6 months, it was brought down to less than 7 days. By design, the spacecraft entered the Saturn atmosphere on its final orbit and vaporized on September 15, 2017. We also report on the particular challenges associated with a stellar occultation, a flyby of Saturn’s rocks, and the last revolutions of the mission’s Grand Finale.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Cassini Orbit Determination Operations Through The Final Titan Flybys and The Mission Grand Finale (February 2016 - September 2017)


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    2018-02-01


    Type of media :

    Preprint


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




    Atmospheric drag model for Cassini orbit determination during low altitude Titan flybys

    Pelletier, F. J. / Antreasian, P. G. / Bordi, J. J. et al. | NTRS | 2006


    Operational thermal control of Cassini Titan flybys

    Millard, J. M. / Luan, T. W. | NTRS | 2003


    Operational Thermal Control of Cassini Titan Flybys

    Millard, Jerry M. / Luan, Taylor W. | SAE Technical Papers | 2003


    Operational Thermal Control of Cassini Titan Flybys

    Millard, J. M. / Luan, T. W. / SAE | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2003