Cassini-Huygens Spacecraft Reaches Satur n Wed AM

“NASA TV --- Be There or Be Square


Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington                                 June 24, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-1547)

Carolina Martinez
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
(Phone: 818/354-9682)

NOTE TO EDITORS: N04-098

NASA ANNOUNCES SATURN MISSION COVERAGE

At approximately 10:36 p.m. EDT, June 30, 2004, the Cassini-
Huygens spacecraft arrives at Saturn. After nearly a seven-year
journey, it will be the first mission to orbit Saturn. The international
cooperative mission plans a four-year tour of Saturn, its rings, icy
moons, magnetosphere, and Titan, the planet's largest moon.

NASA has a series of media briefings, live television shots and feeds
from Mission Control scheduled from June 29 to July 3, 2004. Media
representatives planning to cover events at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., should contact the Media
Relations Office at 818/354-5011 for credentials. To book satellite
interviews, contact Jack Dawson at 818/354-0040 or email:
jack.b.dawson@jpl.nasa.gov.

NASA TV COVERAGE

Tuesday, June 29
-- Noon to 1:00 p.m. EDT - News briefing: Saturn mission overview
and status
-- 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. EDT - Live satellite interviews via NASA TV
Wednesday, June 30
-- Noon to 1:00 p.m. EDT - News briefing: final mission status before
Saturn arrival
-- 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EDT - News briefing: "17 countries, 7 years, 1
planet, The International Aspects of Cassini"
-- 5:00 to 5:45 p.m. EDT - "Ringside Chat" press Q&A
-- 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. EDT - Live satellite interviews via NASA TV
-- 9:30 p.m. to 12:40 a.m. July 1 EDT - Live commentary from mission
control of Cassini-Huygens arrival at Saturn

Thursday, July 1
-- 1:00 to 2:00 a.m. EDT - News briefing: Post-Saturn arrival
-- 5:00 to 7:00 a.m. EDT - Live satellite interviews via NASA TV
-- 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. EDT - Live commentary of first images taken
during orbit insertion
-- 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. EDT - News briefing: Cassini Saturn arrival first
pictures
-- 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. EDT - Live satellite interviews via NASA TV

Friday, July 2
-- 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EDT - News briefing on preliminary science
results

Saturday, July 3
-- News briefing, time TBA, depending on mission science results

The schedule of briefings and other events is subject to change.
Schedules are available in the JPL newsroom and homepage at:
www.jpl.nasa.gov

NASA TV is available on AMC-9, transponder 9C, C-Band, located at
85 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz.
Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. Audio only
of NASA TV coverage is available at: 321/867-1220/1240/1260/7135.
For information about NASA TV or to view live webcasts on the
Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv


INTERNET COVERAGE

For mission news and images on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/cassini


Information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, including an
electronic copy of the press kit, press releases, fact sheets, status
reports, briefing schedules and images, is available on the Internet at:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov



-end-

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“dang! Seems just like yesterday they launched that thing. ;)”

“There was a huge flap over the launching of a nuclear power source as I recall....”

“cool links, Tilt, thanks for the info!”

“uh.... That should've been PM not AM...

But be on the lookout for nifty Saturn images appearing Thurday AM on various news outlets.”

“That was supposed to be a picture of HAL.... sorry.”

“Take me to your leader.”

“'palantír' dot net.... INteresting...






"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that..."”

“Thanks Tilt,

Somehow I knew you'd come through!”

“I just happen to have a few HAL images squirreled away... I'm a big fan.

His 12th birthday would have been this past January. He's a Capricorn, I believe, <G>”

“Cassini, like nearly all other Deep Space probes, uses RTG (Radio-Thermal Generators) for their power source, because that far out, you'd need solar panels the size of football fields to get the necessary power. RTG's work using a radioactive heat source (decaying plutonium usually) and a thermocouple. A thermocouple has the property of producing a current when one end is heated. They're usually used to measure temperature, but obviously can also be used to generate electricity.

The use of RTG's in Cassini was protested by a large group of Luddites who are afraid of anything radioactive, nevermind that they took a larger risk of getting cancer by standing outside and protesting than they have of getting cancer as a result of an accidental release of Pu from an RTG.”

“More.”

“Saturn Orbital Insertion Wednesday Night....

Latest images at JPL

Check out Phoebe --”

“That's not going to be a porn site is it? What with all the "insertion" and "Phoebe" talk...”

“Are you a homophoebe?”

“lol...”

“Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory For Operations


”

“Gee, I thought Phoebe was perhaps a girl with whom I might be able to get a date.”

“I think I'll be quiet now, and try not to get into any more trouble.”

“Tilt- Amazing stuff”

“And it's just beginning --- <GRIN>”