Welcome back to another historical milestone. This is the series where we explore important events that have happened in the field of the space industry. Today’s topic is the launch of the spacecraft responsible for one of the biggest expeditions to Saturn, the Cassini orbiter. This machine allowed us to discover a lot more about the remote gas giant. It also took some stunning photos of the planet, including one we discussed in our previous capsule on “The 5 Best Pictures of the Solar System”. So, let’s take a gander at how this mission was started, on this day, 26 years ago.
Riding On a Centaur
As all of you might have gathered from my last sentence, the launch occurred on October 15th, 1997. It took place in Cape Canaveral and involved the lift-off of a Titan IVB/Centaur rocket with both Cassini and its Huygens probe on board. The time of the launch was 4:43 am EDT (Easter Daylight Time). From that moment Cassini embarked on a 7-year journey to its destination, the faraway Saturn, arriving there on June 30th, 2004.
Cassini and Its Mission
Once there, the Cassini orbiter proceeded to complete its primary mission of studying the Saturn System for 4 years. It then went on to continue gathering data for an additional 9 years, spending a total time of 13 years around the gas giant and its moons. This enabled even more research to be conducted, giving us a much clearer picture of what “life” around Saturn is really like. So, let’s talk about some of the highlights of this mission.
Cassini and Huygens: What Did They Accomplish?
First off, we have all the firsts that these spacecrafts can boast. Huygens was the first probe to land on a celestial body in the outer Solar System. Cassini was the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn. And it was also the first to sample an extraterrestrial ocean. For more information on the sampling of the ocean in question, you can check out our stroll on Saturn.
Moving on from that, Cassini’s stay in the Saturn System also led to a deeper understanding of how planets develop. In a similar fashion to how the Jovian System is reminiscent of a miniature Solar System, the Saturn one can give great insight into how planets and moons form. Cassini also discovered the presence of two gigantic hurricanes located at Saturn’s two poles. And, in a more general sense, it was also able to observe seasons on this planet and the effects they had. After all, given Saturn’s position in the Solar System, it would take a lot longer than just one Earth year to observe a full seasonal cycle.
These are just some of the most important accomplishments of this spacecraft duo. However, if you would like to learn more about this mission, please let us know in the comments and we will dedicate a full article to it.
The End of an Odyssey
After gathering all this crucial and revolutionary data, the Cassini orbiter prepared for a final descent. And on September 15th, 2017, it went inside Saturn’s atmosphere, losing contact with Earth shortly thereafter. And so, after 13 years and 22 orbits around the gas giant, Cassini’s mission finally ended.
Thank you so much for joining us in looking back at one of the most successful explorations of the deep Solar System. And for anyone wondering why this month’s milestone was not the launch of Sputnik… we quite simply did not remember about that until the day of. But fortunately, other than the massive embarrassment this caused on our end, all that changed is that Sputnik will be next October’s superstar. And if you would like to learn more about space and the space industry, make sure to follow Impulso on social media. That way you will never miss one of our pieces. “See you” all next time, right here, at impulso.space.
