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| New Cassini images of asteroid Masursky |
| New images taken by the camera onboard the Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft are giving scientists the first size estimates on asteroid 2685 Masursky
and preliminary evidence that it may have different material propertiesthan previously believed, NASA reports.
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| Date: 15 Feb 2000 |
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| Huygens S-band probe relay test successfully completed on 5 February |
| The Huygens S-band Probe Relay test was successfully completed during the night of 4 to 5 February. The test started on 4 February at 21:45 UTC and finished on 5 February at 05:15 UTC. |
| Date: 09 Feb 2000 |
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| Huygens fifth checkout successfully completed during night of 2 February |
| The fifth in-flight Huygens checkout was successfully completed during the night of 2 to 3 February. The Probe was switched on at 23:00 UTC on 2February and switched OFF at 02:50 UTC on 3 February. The data came down with a 25 min delay due to the propagation time of the radio signal from Cassini/Huygens to the Earth. The telemetry data were made available to the Huygens Flight Operations Team at HPOC at ESOC in Darmstadt (D). A preliminary evaluation of the data by the Flight Operations Team indicates that all subsystems and experiments performed as expected. |
| Date: 03 Feb 2000 |
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| Huygens fifth checkout successfully completed during night of 2 February |
| The fifth in-flight Huygens checkout was successfully completed during the night of 2 to 3 February. The Probe was switched on at 23:00 UTC on 2February and switched OFF at 02:50 UTC on 3 February. The data came down with a 25 min delay due to the propagation time of the radio signal from Cassini/Huygens to the Earth. The telemetry data were made available to the Huygens Flight Operations Team at HPOC at ESOC in Darmstadt (D). A preliminary evaluation of the data by the Flight Operations Team indicates that all subsystems and experiments performed as expected. |
| Date: 03 Feb 2000 |
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| 5th Huygens in-flight checkout tonight 23:00 UT |
| The 5th Huygens Probe in-flight checkout and other Huygens test activities take place 2-5 February. The checkout will be activated tonight at 23:00 CET and lasts for 4 hours. Yesterday, the spacecraft was successfully re-oriented so as to point its High Gain Antenna (HGA) towards Earth. This makes it possible to get high-rate telemetry in real time. The Probe checkout will be executed in direct visibility from the Goldstone Deep Space Network (DSN) station and thus data will arrive in quasi-real time (at 300 000 kms-1 radio waves take about 20 minutes to reach in Earth) at the Huygens Probe Control Centre at ESOC, Darmstadt (D) through the Cassini Control Centre at JPL. |
| Date: 02 Feb 2000 |
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| Jupiter delights Cassini's European scientists |
| Saturn and its mysterious moon Titan are the primary target of the NASA/ESA CassiniHuygens mission,
but the final destination is still a long way away. The spacecraft, which has just passed the closest
approach in a swing-by of Jupiter, will take four more years to reach the 'king of the rings' and start studying its
atmosphere, rings, interior and magnetic field environment, as well as Titan and the planet's other moons.
Huygens, ESA's first planetary probe, will have to wait longer, until after arrival at Saturn, to enter Titan's
atmosphere and explore this mysterious cold world. |
| Date: 15 Jan 2000 |
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| From one moon to another with Cassini/Huygens |
| It is exactly two years since ESA's Huygens Probe set off on its remarkable journey towards Saturn's mysterious moon Titan, aboard NASA's Cassini Orbiter. Since its launch on 15 October
1997, Cassini/Huygens has now travelled 1.863 billion kilometres, and is en route for the final gravity-assist manoeuvre around Jupiter in December 2000.
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| Date: 15 Oct 1999 |
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| Huygens fourth in-flight check-out |
| The fourth in-flight check-out of the Huygens Probe was successfully completed on 15 September 1999, as planned. All sub-systems and experiments performed as expected. Huygens can now sleep until the next wake-up call in early February 2000.
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| Date: 15 Sep 1999 |
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| Wake-up call for Huygens Probe tonight |
| ESA's Huygens probe will be woken from its seven-year sleep shortly
after midnight tonight for a routine checkout. For the first time since
the initial checkout just eight days after launch, Huygens flight
controllers at ESA's control centre in Darmstadt will be able to follow
the event in real time. The checkout begins at 01:00 Universal Time 15
September. |
| Date: 14 Sep 1999 |
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| Early scientific results from the Cassini/Huygens Earth swingby |
| This remarkable observation of the Cassini/Huygens spacecraft was made from Australia while it was on its way out towards Jupiter a few hours after it had successfully completed its Earth flyby on 18 August at 3:38 UTC.
The swingby was performed to give the NASA/ESA Cassini/Huygens space probe a 5.5 km/s boost
in speed, propelling it towards Saturn, more than 1 billion kilometres away.
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| Date: 24 Aug 1999 |
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| PR 34-1999: Cassini-Huygens swings by Earth and accelerates towards Saturn |
| The NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens spacecraft bid goodbye to Earth as it completed a highly accurate pass by our planet and swung away towards its encounter with Saturn in 2004. The Earth flyby occurred at 03:28 UT on 18 August and gave the space probe a 5.5 km per second boost in speed, propelling it towards the ringed planet, more than 1 billion kilometres away. |
| Date: 18 Aug 1999 |
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| Cassini-Huygens speeds up towards Earth, Saturn |
| The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft today successfully performed a final adjustment to its trajectory and is on course for a flyby of Earth that will take place on Wedneday, 18 August at 5:28 CEST (03:28 Universal Time). |
| Date: 12 Aug 1999 |
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| Venus flyby successfully completed |
| Cassini-Huygens successfully completed its second flyby of the planet Venus late last night.
As planned, Cassini-Huygens flew by Venus at about 600 km altitude above the surface at 22:30 CET on 24 June, with Venus' gravity giving the spacecraft a boost in speed to help it reach Saturn more than 1 billion kilometres away. |
| Date: 25 Jun 1999 |
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| Cassini-Huygens swings around Venus today |
| The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft will perform its second Venus flyby
today. Its closest approach to the planet will occur at 22:30:05 Central European Time (CET).
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| Date: 24 Jun 1999 |
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| Huygens scientists met in Arizona on 10-12 March. |
| The Huygens Science Working Team meets regularly in order to review the
Probe biannual checkout results and also to prepare for the Huygens Probe mission phase that will take place in November 2004.
This time, the Huygens SWT meeting was hosted by the DISR team, at the
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona. Each team reported on the detailed analysis of their respective instrument performances during the last checkout that took place on 22 Dec 1998. All instruments are in good health and performed nominally.
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| Date: 06 Apr 1999 |
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| Huygens third checkout successfully completed |
| The third inflight checkout of the Huygens Probe was successfully completed over the Christmas period. All systems and experiments performed as expected. Huygens can now sleep on for the next 8.5 months, until its next wake up call in mid-September 1999. Checking of the Cassini's spacecraft continues throughout the month of January.
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| Date: 12 Jan 1999 |
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| Third Huygens checkout preliminary results good |
| The third Huygens in-flight check-out (F3) started on-board the Probe at 22:20 UTC on 21 December 1998 and was completed at 02:35 UTC, 22 December.
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| Date: 22 Dec 1998 |
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| Huygens Third Checkout 22 December 1998 |
| The next checkout of the ESA Huygens Probe is scheduled to take place early tomorrow morning, 22 December. It lasts four hours and will be completed at 02:35 UTC.
The data produced will be stored on board Cassini and transmitted back to Earth on 28 December. |
| Date: 21 Dec 1998 |
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| New pictures of Titan to come from Galileo |
| NASA's Galileo spacecraft, currently orbiting around Jupiter,
will take images of Saturn's moon Titan and of other Outer Solar System
Objects this week for the purpose of calibrating some of its camera filters.
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| Date: 08 Dec 1998 |
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| Cassini/Huygens deep-space manoeuvre completed |
| Cassini/Huygens successfully completed its long-planned 90-minute firing of its onboard rocket engine on 3 December, setting
the spacecraft on course for a second flyby of Venus in June - the next major milestone on the long voyage to Saturn.
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| Date: 04 Dec 1998 |
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