Timeline of Cassini–Huygens
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This page is a chronology of events which have occurred or are expected to occur during the Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan.
October 15 - Cassini launched at 08:43 UTC.
April 27 - Gravity-assisted flyby of Venus
June 24 - Gravity-assisted flyby of Venus.
August 18 - Gravity-assisted flyby of Earth.
December 30 - Gravity-assisted flyby of Jupiter. Cassini was at its closest point to Jupiter at this date, and performed many scientific measurements. It also produced the most detailed global color portrait of Jupiter ever produced (seen on the right); the smallest visible features are approximately 60 km (37 miles) across.
May 30 - During the coast phase between Jupiter and Saturn, it was noticed that "haze" became visible in the pictures taken by the narrow-angle camera of Cassini. This was first seen when a picture of the star Maia in the Pleiades was taken after a routine heating period.
July 23 - In late January, a test was performed to remove the "haze" from the narrow-angle camera lens by heating it. Warming the camera to 4 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit) for eight days produced the hoped results. Later, the heating was extended to 60 days, and a picture of the star Spica showed an improvement of more than 90 percent compared to before the heating period. On July 9, a picture showed that the removal procedure was completed successfully, which was announced on July 23 (Press release).
October 10 - The Cassini science team announced the results of a test of Einstein's theory of gravity, using radio signals from the Cassini probe. The researchers observed a frequency shift in the radio waves to and from the space craft, as those signals traveled close to the Sun. Past tests were in agreement with the theoretical predictions with an accuracy of one part in one thousand. The Cassini experiment improved this to about 20 parts in a million, with the data still supporting Einstein's theory.
February 27 - A new, high-resolution picture of Saturn taken by Cassini on February 9 was released, and it was noted that mission scientists were puzzled by the fact that no "spokes" in Saturn's ring are visible. These dark structures in the "B" section of the ring had been discovered in pictures taken by the Voyager probe in 1981. (See Press Release Image)
March 12 - Pictures taken February 23 do show a feature discovered by Voyager: Clumps in the outer "F"-ring. What could not be ascertained at the time, was the exact lifetime of these clumps, and it is hoped that Cassini will provide conclusive data about this question. The first set of pictures show a set of "clumps" moving along the "F" ring.
March 22 - Cassini will be 50,000,000 km from Saturn at 07:42:14 UT in SCET. It will be 1,332,034,964 km from the Sun. The speed related to Saturn will be 5367 m/s. The speed related to the Sun will be 5749 m/s.
April 12 - Cassini will be 40,000,000 km from Saturn at 19:35:12 UT in SCET. It will be 1,336,485,608 km from the Sun. The speed related to Saturn will be 5404 m/s. The speed related to the Sun will be 5666 m/s.
May 4 - Cassini will be 30,000,000 km from Saturn at 02:57:31 UT in SCET. It will be 1,340,742,615 km from the Sun. The speed related to Saturn will be 5466 m/s. The speed related to the Sun will be 5570 m/s.
May 19 - Cassini will enter the Saturn system at 10:54:58 UT in SCET. At that time, the gravitational pull of Saturn begins to overtake the influence of the Sun. The spacecraft will be 22,716,387 km from Saturn and 1,343,723,216 km from the Sun. The speed related to Saturn will be 5541 m/s. The speed related to the Sun will be 5478 m/s.
May 25 - Cassini will be 20,000,000 km from Saturn at 02:38:02 UT in SCET. It will be 1,344,809,089 km from the Sun. The speed related to Saturn will be 5581 m/s. The speed related to the Sun will be 5435 m/s.
Jun 11 - Cassini's flyby of Phoebe at 19:32.
July 1 - Saturn Orbit Insertion, which will begin at 01:12 UT in SCET and last 97 minutes.
January 14 - Huygens enters Titan's atomsphere