Cassini Update - July 13, 2007
- From: baalke@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:18:19 -0700
Cassini Significant Events
for 07/03/07 - 07/10/07
The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired on Tuesday, July 10,
from
the Goldstone tracking complex. The Cassini spacecraft is in an
excellent
state of health and all subsystems are operating normally. Information
on
the present position and speed of the Cassini spacecraft may be found
on the
"Present Position" web page located at
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/operations/present-position.cfm.
Tuesday, July 3 (DOY 184):
Orbit Trim Maneuver (OTM) #119 was performed today. This is the
cleanup
maneuver from the Titan 33 encounter on June 29. The reaction control
subsystem burn began at 2:45 AM PST. Telemetry immediately after the
maneuver showed the burn duration was 13.88 seconds, giving a delta-V
of
0.024 m/s. All subsystems reported nominal performance after the
maneuver.
A delivery coordination meeting was held today for version 3.3.3 of
the
Cassini Information Management System (CIMS). This release supports a
new
resource check to validate prime SSR during an observation and
downlink
pass, and data volume analysis and management for high value science
dual
playback.
Wednesday, July 4 (DOY 185):
The JPL Public Information Office released the following over the July
4
holiday:
surface details of Saturn's moon Hyperion, including cup-like cratersFrom data obtained during a flyby in September of 2005, Cassini obtained
filled
with hydrocarbons that may indicate more widespread presence in our
solar
system of basic chemicals necessary for life. Water and carbon
dioxide ices
were found as well as dark material that fits the spectral profile of
hydrocarbons. A paper appearing in the July 5 issue of Nature
reports
details of Hyperion's surface craters and composition observed during
this
flyby, including keys to understanding the moon's origin and evolution
over
4.5 billion years. This is the first time scientists were able to map
the
surface material on Hyperion.
For the complete article link to:
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-release-details.cfm?newsID=758
Thursday, July 5 (DOY 186):
The ninth of fourteen science archive deliveries for the prime mission
was
completed on July 1 and is now available through the Planetary Data
System
(PDS). This delivery is comprised of Cassini science data obtained
from
July through September, 2006. Also, the first delivery of Cosmic
Dust
Analyzer (CDA)- High Rate Detector (HRD) data was delivered to the PDS
Small
Bodies Node, and is currently being verified. It is expected to be
accessible by the public within the next two months.
The last delivery of Huygens data, Descent Imager Spectral Radiometer
(DISR)
data, is now available at the PDS Atmospheres node. The link for this
node
is: http://pds-atmospheres.nmsu.edu/
Science this week was dedicated to apoapsis science and calibrations.
The
Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) observed the Saturn
magnetosphere,
the Magnetometer Subsystem (MAG) performed a calibration roll, the
Visual
and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) performed a stellar
calibration,
and also obtained an edge-on mosaic of the entire ring system from
near
apoapsis.
Friday, July 6 (DOY 187):
The Spacecraft Office reported the execution of an AACS backup gyro
calibration. The calibration of Gyro B is divided into three parts
beginning on Friday and ending in the early evening on Saturday. This
is the
last calibration necessary to complete parameter sets for the AACS
flight
software update version A8.7.6, currently on track for uplink to the
spacecraft in January of 2008.
Monday, July 9 (DOY 190):
The Science Operations Plan Update process for S35 kicked off today.
The
preliminary input port for the process occurs on July 24, and the
process
will complete on August 17.
OTM-120, the apoapsis maneuver scheduled for July 8, 2007, has been
deleted.
The delta-V cost of deletion was small, about 40 mm/sec. The deletion
eased
workload during the weekend following July 4 and improved orbit
determination accuracy leading to OTM-121 set to execute on July 15.
Over the weekend, the sequence leads for S32 began the uplink of files
in
support of that sequence. Twelve Instrument Expanded Block files were
sent
and confirmed on-board. Today the final sequence approval meeting was
held
along with a kick off meeting for a Radio Science (RSS) Live Update
Block
and a VIMS, Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS), UVIS, and Imaging
Science Subsystem (ISS) Live Inertial Vector Propagator (IVP) update
for
Hyperion and Helene. S32 will begin execution on Friday, July 13.
UPDATE:
At the Go/No go meeting on Tuesday it was agreed there was no need for
a
Live IVP update for Helene and Hyperion on DOY 201. RSS is still in
need of
its Live Update Block, so the building, analysis and approval of that
file
will continue.
On Thursday, files were uplinked for an on-board test of CDA flight
software
(FSW) version 10.4. The test runs for about 2.5 days, concluding on
Thursday, July 12. At the end of the test, CDA will power cycle and
reload
the current FSW V10.0.
Tuesday, July 10 (DOY 191):
A presentation of the full DSN strawman plan for the proposed extended
mission was given today at the Mission Planning Forum. This plan
represents
the first cut at what Cassini plans to request for DSN coverage for an
extended mission. Touched upon were a wide range of "interesting"
time
periods involving all science disciplines, spacecraft issues, and
navigation. Representatives from all science Target Working Teams,
Orbiter
Science Teams, the Spacecraft Office, Science Planning, and Navigation
attended along with other interested parties from the project.
Wrap up:
Check out the Cassini web site at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov for the
latest
press releases and images.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the
European
Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, a
division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena,
manages the
Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate,
Washington,
D.C. JPL designed, developed and assembled the Cassini orbiter.
.
- Prev by Date: The Origin of Perennial Water-Ice at the South Pole of Mars
- Next by Date: Scott Horowitz Announces Departure From NASA
- Previous by thread: The Origin of Perennial Water-Ice at the South Pole of Mars
- Next by thread: Scott Horowitz Announces Departure From NASA
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
