Flight path control design for the Cassini Solstice Mission

Ballard, Christopher G.; Ionasescu, Rodica

Flight path control design for the Cassini Solstice Mission

Ballard, Christopher G.; Ionasescu, Rodica

URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2014/43842

Date: 2011-08-01

Keywords: maneuver analysis; Equinox Mission; Solstice Mission; Saturn observation mission

Publisher: Pasadena, CA : Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2011.

Citation: AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, Girdwood, Alaska, July 31 ‐ August 4, 2011

Abstract:

The Cassini spacecraft has been in orbit around Saturn for just over 7 years, with a planned 7-year extension, called the Solstice Mission, which started on September 27, 2010. The Solstice Mission includes 205 maneuvers and 70 flybys which consist of the moons Titan, Enceladus, Dione, and Rhea. This mission is designed to use all available propellant with a statistical margin averaging 0.6 m/s per encounter, and the work done to prove and ensure the viability of this margin is highlighted in this paper.

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