R. I. P., Cassini

For your "out of this world" discussions.

R. I. P., Cassini

Postby Arneb » Fri Sep 15, 2017 5:57 pm

That Cassini, not that Cassini.

It was a pleasure knowing you, your voyages and the things you accomplished. I was jittery in front of the livestream when you achieved SOI with a 96 min burn on a trajectory that led you through the (of course) Cassini division; when you delivered Huygens to Titan, and when Huygens broadcast to you until you were under its horizon; when you took one of the most astounding portraits of Saturn and the Earth, when you flew through the plumes of Enceladus, and when you caught the Sun glinting off Titan's ice-cold, but strangely fluid Northern lakes.

You will be greatly missed, but you went out in style, bravely firing the last of your fuel in order to keep the antenna pointed at Earth, when you sampled and tasted the elusive upper atmosphere of the giant you circled for thirteen years.

As an afterthought, your plutonim oxide pellets were covered in metallic iridium in order to keep the PuO2 from dispersing into the atmosphere on entry (in case of an engine failure at liftoff). Iridium is highly heat resistant. If droplets of it survive intact, they will sink right into the nucleus of Saturn, as there is probably no place there denser than Iridium. So, while there is no more Cassini, humanity will have deposed a little gift inside the core of a gas giant in maybe a few thousand years.
Image
Non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem
User avatar
Arneb
Moderator
Moderator
German Medical Dude
God of All Things IT
 
Posts: 70003
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:22 pm
Location: Potsdam, Germany

Re: R. I. P., Cassini

Postby Lance » Fri Sep 15, 2017 6:37 pm

Very nice. Thank you.
No trees were killed in the posting of this message.
However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.

==========================================

Build a man a fire and he will be warm for a few hours.
Set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life.
User avatar
Lance
Administrator
Administrator
Cheeseburger Swilling Lard-Ass who needs to put down the remote and get off the couch.
 
Posts: 91394
Joined: Thu May 12, 2005 5:51 pm
Location: Oswego, IL

Re: R. I. P., Cassini

Postby g-one » Fri Sep 15, 2017 6:38 pm

striving to recognize the penultimate straw
User avatar
g-one
Illuminatus
Illuminatus
 
Posts: 2177
Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2016 6:18 am
Location: Melonville, Canada

Re: R. I. P., Cassini

Postby Enzo » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:19 pm

But it never quite made it to the far flung Islets of Langerhans.
E Pluribus Condom
User avatar
Enzo
Enlightened One
Enlightened One
Chortling with glee!
 
Posts: 11956
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2006 5:30 am
Location: Lansing, Michigan

Re: R. I. P., Cassini

Postby Arneb » Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:25 pm

Sure, but what would that be good for? Even I do that every day.
Non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem
User avatar
Arneb
Moderator
Moderator
German Medical Dude
God of All Things IT
 
Posts: 70003
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:22 pm
Location: Potsdam, Germany

Re: R. I. P., Cassini

Postby tubeswell » Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:29 pm

Watch on youtube.com
A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.

If you are seeing an apparent paradox, that means you are missing something.
User avatar
tubeswell
Enlightened One
Enlightened One
 
Posts: 324861
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2010 11:51 am
Location: 129th in-line to the Llama Throne (after the last purge)

Re: R. I. P., Cassini

Postby Arneb » Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:30 am

Funny to think that when Cassini launched, I wasn't even fully qualified, and when it arrived at Saturn, I was still childless. If I were one of the mission scientists, I'd have a lot of lumps in my throat to swallow. These missions are incredibly long-haul.

Here is the final image as it arrived at Goldstone, before the graphics whizkids cleaned it up for the consumers:
Image
Non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem
User avatar
Arneb
Moderator
Moderator
German Medical Dude
God of All Things IT
 
Posts: 70003
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 8:22 pm
Location: Potsdam, Germany


Return to Astronomy / Cosmology / Physics

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests

cron