Cassini successfully completes flyby of Earth
Philip Chien (kc4yer@amsat.org)
Wed, 18 Aug 1999 02:25:53 -0400
From: JPLNews@jpl.nasa.gov
> Earthlings bid farewell to the Cassini spacecraft tonight as
>the Saturn-bound mission successfully completed a highly accurate
>pass of Earth at 8:28 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (03:28 Universal
>Time August 18). The flyby gave Cassini a 5.5-kilometer-per-
>second (about 12,000-mile-per-hour) boost in speed, sending the
>spacecraft on toward the ringed planet more than 1 billion
>kilometers (almost one billion miles) away.
I guess we're lucky that we dodged the bullet again. ;-)
> Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirmed that
>the spacecraft flew past Earth at an altitude of about 1,171
>kilometers (727 miles), passing most closely above the eastern
>South Pacific at -23.5 degrees latitude and 231.5 degrees
>longitude. Cassini may have been visible from small islands in
>that area, such as Pitcairn Island or Easter Island.
hmm, I wonder if any Seesaters made an expedition down there and whether or
not they were successful ...
Philip Chien, KC4YER
Earth News
world (in)famous writer, science fiction fan, ham radio operator,
all-around nice guy, etc.