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Scrape
09-15-2017, 10:15 AM
Friday, September 15, 2017, 9:27 AM - Some spacecraft simply stop working. Others are just switched off. NASA's Cassini, though, went down fighting as it plunged into Saturn, sending back science right up until its final moments.

At 7:54 a.m. EDT (4:54 a.m. PDT), on Friday, September 15, 2017, the Cassini mission at Saturn officially and finally came to an end.
The spacecraft passed over Saturn's northern hemisphere, and then dove in to the planet's atmosphere at a point roughly 10 degrees above the equator.

On its way in, Cassini's thrusters struggled to keep it oriented towards Earth, even as the air it flew through tried to toss it about and tear it apart. Its target: the antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network, to send back as much data as possible about what it encountered on this final plunge.

Starting at 7 a.m. EDT (4 a.m. PDT), NASA broadcast live for the event, keeping us appraised of Cassini's progress and counting down to the predicted end-of-signal.

This special, 360-degree, live video stream - the first of its kind from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory - put viewers right in the middle of things in Mission Control, and you can watch it in replay now.

In addition, embedded virtual screens in the feed provided a view of the live NASA TV stream, as well, so those watching the action in mission control would not miss out on a thing.
To catch all the action in Mission Control, simply click or tap on the video, above, and drag the view around.

Cassini's final images

In preparation for this final maneuver, on Thursday, Cassini snapped its very last images before the mission team issued the order for the camera to shut down. Check out all the final images at NASA's Cassini Grand Finale website (https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/raw-images?order=earth_date+desc&per_page=50&page=0), but first take a look at some of the work from fans of the mission, who processed those raw pictures to produce these amazing results.

The icy moon, Enceladus, setting beyond the limb of Saturn.
This special, 360-degree, live video stream - the first of its kind from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory - put viewers right in the middle of things in Mission Control, and you can watch it in replay now.

In addition, embedded virtual screens in the feed provided a view of the live NASA TV stream, as well, so those watching the action in mission control would not miss out on a thing.
To catch all the action in Mission Control, simply click or tap on the video, above, and drag the view around.



<iframe src="https://players.brightcove.net/1942203455001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5572622300001" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe>

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/watch-nasa-cassini-spacecraft-plunges-to-its-doom/86254/ (https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/watch-nasa-cassini-spacecraft-plunges-to-its-doom/86254/)

Old Fart
09-15-2017, 09:25 PM
Great post...cool video!

Stephen06GT
09-16-2017, 12:25 AM
The needs of the many...

ZR
09-16-2017, 07:48 AM
Extremely cool, thanks for posting.

RedSN
09-16-2017, 09:42 AM
The needs of the many...
I think the point of crashing Cassini into Saturn was the almost absolute guarantee that anything and everything (possible microbes or bacteria from earth for example) would burn up. Last thing they want is to create the Genesis effect on Saturn.