T
heCassinispacecraft is designed fora dauntingtask —to leaveEarth on aseven-yearinterplanetary voyageto the giantgasplanetSaturn.Oncethere,Cassini willspendfour yearsexploringtheplanet,itsrings,anditsmoons.Itwillalso deploy a probe to the moon Titan —a world with anatmosphere sufficient to allowa parachuteto landthe probeonthesurface.ThesearethechallengesfacingtheCassinimission, an international cooperativeeffort of theNational Aeronautics andSpaceAdministration(NASA),the European SpaceAgency (ESA),and the Italian Space Agency(AgenziaSpazialeItaliana,ASI).ThemissionismanagedforNASAby theJet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)of theCalifornia Institute ofTechnology.
This illustra-tion shows themain designfeatures of thetwo-story-tallCassini spacecraft.
The Cassinispacecraftis composedofthe orbiter andthe Huygens probe.Itis the second-largestinterplanetaryspacecraftever to be launched,owing to its cargoofmul-tiple science instruments andanenormous quantity of pro-pellant.(The former Soviet Union launchedthe largestinter-planetary vehicles:the Phobos 1 and2Marscraft,eachweighing6,220 kilograms,ornearly 7 tons.)The Cassiniprobe and orbitertogetherweighabout5,574 kilograms(6.1tons),more than50percentofwhichis liquidpropel-lant.The propellantmassalone is more than themassoftheGalileoandVoyager spacecraft combined. Cassinistands more than6.7 meters(22feet)highand is morethan4 meters (13.1 feet)wide (notincludinga deployedboomand antennas).Thecone-shapedprobe remains dormant duringthe cruiseto Saturn. After arrivalat Saturn,theprobe willbe activatedanddeployedinto the atmosphere ofTitan,sendingdata totheorbiter.The Cassiniorbiterwillrelaytheprobedata toEarth,andthenconductits ownscientific investigationofthe Saturn systemfor nearly fouryears.
THE CASSINI ORBITER
The design ofthe orbiter isderivedfromthe specialde-mands ofthe Cassinimission.Communication,forexample,is essentialtoallowcommandingofthe spacecraftfromEarthandfor the returnofthe scientific data fromthe or-biter andthe probe.This is done by the use ofradiosys-tems operatingon severaldifferentmicrowave frequencies.The orbiter communicates with controllersonEarth viathree separate antennas — a high-gain antenna thatis4meters (13.1feet)indiameter,andtwolow-gainanten-nas.The rigid high-gainantenna was developedby ASI.De-pendingonmissionphase,data transmissioncanvary froma lowof 5 bits per secondupto249kilobits per second.The data travelat the speedof light.Whenthe spacecraftisat Saturn,Cassiniwillbe 8.6to10.6astronomicalunits(AU)fromEarth —1 AUis themeandistance fromEarthtothe Sun:about 150millionkilometers or 93millionmiles.Atthat distance,itwilltake from68 to 84 minutes forradiowaves to travelfromEarthtothe spacecraftorfromthespacecrafttoEarth.
CASSINI SPACECRAFT ANDHUYGENSPROBE
JETPROPULSIONLABORATORY
445-newtonEngine (1 of 2)RadioisotopeThermoelectricGenerator (1 of 3)HuygensTitan ProbeFields andParticles PalletRadar BayLow-Gain Antenna (1 of 2)Remote-Sensing PalletRadio and Plasma WaveSubsystem Antenna (1 of 3)11-meter MagnetometerBoom4-meter High-Gain Antenna
Cassini waslaunchedOctober 15, 1997,on a Titan IVB/Centaur rocket.
The orbiter receives electricalpower fromthreeradioisotopethermoelectric generators,or RTGs.These produce powerby convertingheat intoelectricalenergy.Heat is providedby the naturalradioactive decay of plutoniumdioxide.RTGshave nomovingparts andare avery reliable sourceof en-ergy.Uponthespacecraft’s arrivalat Saturn,Cassini’s threeRTGs willprovidemore than700wattsof powerfor engi-neeringandscientific devices.Propulsionfor largechanges totheorbiter’s trajectory isprovidedby either oftwo identicalmainengines.Thesepowerfulenginesuse nitrogen tetroxide and monomethyl-hydrazineas the oxidizer andfuel,respectively.Sixteensmaller engines,calledthrusters,use hydrazinetocontrolorientationandtomakesmallchanges to thespacecraft’sflight path.Guidanceand controlfor thespacecraftare governedbysensorsthat recognize reference starsandthe Sun,andbyonboard computers that determine thespacecraft’s posi-tion.Using anewtypeofgyroscope that vibrates ratherthanspins,the spacecraftcanperformturns,twists,andpropulsionengine firings while retaining continuousknowledge ofits ownorientation.Theorbiter is stabilizedalongallthree axes and thus does notnormally rotateduringits longcruise to Saturn.The Cassinitrajectory takes the spacecraftpastVenus twiceandpast Earthonce onits triptoSaturn. This poses a chal-lenge oftemperature control,because the orbiter is close tothe Sunfor the firstseveralyears of the mission.The high-gain antenna is usedas a sunshade to shieldthe restoftheorbiter andprobe.Specialpaints are also usedonthe an-tenna to reflect andradiate muchofthe Sun’s energy.Laterinthe mission,as the spacecraftapproaches Saturn,thesunlightis approximately 1 percentofthat receivedatEarth,andextreme cold becomes a concern.Heat is re-tainedby usingahighly efficient insulatingblanket thatwraps mostoftheorbiter.The blanket’s outerlayeris athree-ply membrane composed ofa Kaptoncore with analuminizedinner surfaceanda metallic outer surface. ThetranslucentKaptonhas ayellowcolor and,whenbackedbya shiny aluminumlayer,appears amber.Additionalelectricalheaters and1-wattradioisotope heatersare appliedinse-lectedareas.The thermalblankets also provide protectionfrommicrometeoroids thatwillimpactthe spacecraftatspeeds of5to40kilometers per second(11,000to90,000 miles per hour).Theorbiter requires extensive onboard computingcapabilitybecause most of theCassinimissionis performedwhile theorbiter is notindirect communicationwithgroundcontrol-lers.Sequences — programs stored onthespacecraft thatare detailedcomputerinstructions — directtheactivities ofthespacecraft.Atypicalsequence may operate thespace-craftforfourweeks withoutthe needforground controllerintervention,butcontrollersdo send atleastone commandeach week to resetthe commandtimer.Thecomputers mustalso bedesignedtowithstandthera-diationenvironmentofdeepspace,particularly whentheSunis at peakactivity.Duringsolar flares,theeffects ofwhichcanlast for severaldays,thelevels of radiationemit-ted by the Suncan be 1,000 timeshigherthannormal.Sophisticatedfault-protection software resides in thespacecraftcomputers tocontinuously sample andsensethe healthof theonboardsystems.Thefault-protectionsystemwillautomatically take correctiveactionif it deter-mines that Cassiniis atrisk due to anonboard failure.
ORBITER SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS
The orbiter carries 12 science instruments.The
Radio Sci-ence Investigation
willsearchfor gravitationalwaves intheuniverse andstudy theatmosphere, rings,andgravity fieldsofSaturn andits moons by measuring telltale variations in
The 2.7-meter-diameter Huygensprobe undergoingtests in Germany.
radiowaves sent fromthespacecraft.The
Imaging Science Subsystem
willtakepictures invisible,near-ultraviolet,andnear-infraredlight.The
CassiniRadar
willmapTitan’ssurface usingradar andpassive microwaveimagery topierce the veilofhaze,andwillmeasure heights of surfacefeatures.The
Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer
willex-amineneutralandchargedparticles near Titan,Saturn’srings,andtheicy satellites to learnmore aboutthe ex-tendedatmospheres andionospheres of these bodies.The
Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer
williden-tify the chemicalcompositionofthe surfaces,the atmo-spheres,andrings ofSaturnanditsmoons by measuringthe colors of the visible light andthe infraredenergytheyreflect.The
Composite Infrared Spectrometer
willmeasureinfraredenergy fromthe surfaces,atmospheres,andringsof Saturnandits moons to study theirtemperaturesandcompositions.The
Cosmic Dust Analyzer
willstudy iceanddustgrains in andnear the Saturnsystem.
Radio and Plas-ma Wave Science
willinvestigate plasma waves generatedby ionized gasesflowingoutfromthe Sun oraround Sat-urn,naturalemissions of radioenergy,anddust.The
CassiniPlasma Spectrometer
willexplore plasma —electrically charged(ionized)gas — withinandnearSat-urn’s magneticfield. The
Ultraviolet ImagingSpectrograph
willmeasure ultraviolet energyfromatmospheres,satellitesurfaces,and ringsto study structure,chemistry,andcom-position.The
Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument
willimage Saturn’s magnetic environment andmeasure inter-actionsbetween the magnetosphere and the solarwind,a flowof ionized gases fromtheSun.The
Dual Technique Magnetometer
willstudy Saturn’s magnetic fieldanditsinteractions withthe solar wind,the rings,and themoonsofSaturn.
THE HUYGENS TITAN PROBE
The probe isprovided by ESA.Except for semiannualhealthchecks,theprobe willremaindormantthroughoutthe6.7-yearinterplanetary cruise.Priortotheprobe’sseparationfromthe orbiter,afinalhealth checkwillbeperformed,and theorbiter willposition theprobe onatrajectory tointerceptTitan.Cassiniwillset Huygens’on-boardclock to the precise time necessary to “wake up”theprobe systems 15minutes prior toencounteringTitan’s atmosphere.For21 days,Huygens willsimplycoasttoTitanwithnosystems active exceptforits wake-upclock.Huygens’main mission phase willoccur during its para-chutedescentthrough Titan’satmosphere.The batteriesandallother resources are sizedforaHuygens missiondurationofthree hours,whichincludes thepossibility ofuptohalf anhour or more onTitan’s surface.Theprobe’s ra-diolink willbe activatedearly inthe descentphaseandthedata willberelayedtothe orbiter foronboardstorageandsubsequenttransmissiontoEarth.Atthe endofthis three-hour-longcommunicationwindow,theCassiniorbiter willfly outofradio contactwithHuygens — andshortly there-after its high-gainantenna willbe turnedaway fromTitanandtoward Earth.
HUYGENS PROBE DESIGN FEATURES
Theprobeis ESA’s firstplanetary atmospheric entry mis-sion,andsome ofthe technologies requiredare very dif-ferentfromthose neededformore traditionalmissions.Specialsystems such as the thermal-protectionsystemandhigh-speedparachutes have been developedspecifically forentry into Titan’s atmosphere.The thermalprotectionsystem(TPS)is designedtoprotecttheprobe fromtheextreme heat generatedbyits rushintoTitan’s atmosphereat about 6 kilometers per second(13,400 miles perhour).Atsucha highspeed,surfacetemperatures ashot as1,700degrees Celsius (3,000de-grees Fahrenheit)couldbe reachedin lessthana minute.Thefront of the heat shieldis coveredby tiles similar tothose used to protectthe space shuttle,made froma mate-rialknownas AQ60— a low-density “mat”ofsilica fibers.The tile thickness on the frontshieldis calculatedto ensurethat the structure willnotexceed150degrees Celsius(302degrees Fahrenheit),whichis belowthemeltingtem-perature oflead.The rear side ofthe probe willreachmuchlower temperatures during atmospheric entry;thus,aspray-onlayer of “Prosial”(asilicon-basedfoam)was used.The totalmass ofthe thermal-protection systemismorethan 100kilograms (220 pounds)— almostone-third oftheentire probe mass.