Launch Information
The launcher consisted of a two-stage liquid propellant booster rocket, two strap-on solid rocket motors, an upper stage (Centaur) and a 22 m high payload fairing. At launch the rocket weighed around 950 tonnes, with the spacraft making about 6 tonnes.
Summary of Launch Events
Time Since Launch | Event |
02m23s | Separation of Titan IV/B launcher Altitude: 91.4 km Velocity: 7000 km per hour |
4m30s+ | Parking orbit achieved Apogee: 360 km Perigee: 170 km |
42m40s | After a long burn of the Centaur stage Cassini-Huygens separation |
52m40s | Cassini-Huygens communicates with NASA Deep Space Network |
Telemetry received from the spacecraft indicated that the launch was a very good one - the energy imparted to the spacecraft was accurate to one part in 5000 and the deviation in trajectory no greater than 0.04 degrees.
Last Update: 1 September 2019