98th Cassini Titan fly-by (2 February 2014)

[czokletmuss]

Name: Titan (T-98) Flyby

Date: Febuary 2, 2014 [sCET]

Time: 7:12 PM UTC

Altitude: 768 miles (1,236 kilometers)

Speed: 13,000 mph (5.8 km/sec)

Goal: To look for changes to Ontario Lacus’ shoreline

Source: https://titansaturnsmoon.wordpress.com/2014/02/02/looking-for-changes-on-ontario-lacus/#more-590

I really, really hope NASA won't pull the plug from Cassini. Even if they are going to have some financial problem it would be better to kill Curiosity (remember that there is another martian rover coming soon) than Cassini - there's currently no Saturn mission scheduled at all.

Edited February 3, 2014 by czokletmuss

[KerbMav]

I really, really hope NASA won't pull the plug from Cassini. Even if they are going to have some financial problem it would be better to kill Curiosity (remember that there is another martian rover coming soon) than Cassini - there's currently no Saturn mission scheduled at all.

Id really like to know, how much (and why) a rover mission can cost, if the rover is already there?!

Or any mission for which the hardware is already in place and cannot be directly physically maintained/repaired/refueled/... anyway?

Thank you for the heads up!

[Streetwind]

NASA should have no trouble maintaining its current missions. They can still maintain two Mars rovers at once, even - Opportunity is a 10 year old rover with a broken wheel, two inoperable science instruments and a robotic arm that will only move with lots of good words and gentle coaxing. Yet they still have a team assigned to it full-time, and they are still receiving great results, especially since they also have Curiosity active which can verify or contrast the findings with a different set of instruments in a different geological location.

There was a period of anxiety over maintaining existing missions as NASA's budget dropped year after year; eventually they would have to decide whether to keep existing missions running and don't do anything new, or terminate existing missions early in favor of occasionally doing something new. That point hasn't been reached, however, and NASA's budget actually went up this year as they got tasked with intensifying their space launch vessel development in the wake of a series of Chinese success stories that took some politicians outside their comfort zone.

As such, I wouldn't worry so much. As long as Cassini can stay operating (venerable as it is, at almost 17 years of age) and do something useful, NASA will gladly make use of it. They know they don't have or will get the budget to send a new one anytime soon. This thing is precious to them.

Id really like to know, how much (and why) a rover mission can cost, if the rover is already there?!

Or any mission for which the hardware is already in place and cannot be directly physically maintained/repaired/refueled/... anyway?

Existing missions are indeed very cost-efficient. Almost all the money is spent up-front, and the returns only start rolling in afterwards. Which is why decades-old missions like Cassini and Opportunity are by no means a waste of money... much to the contrary, they are among the most cost-efficient things NASA did. Sure, the instruments are old and low-resolution, but having lots and lots of low-res data is better than having nothing at all. Cassini received its numerous lifetime extensions precisely because it's such a good deal, not because NASA had people sitting around with nothing to do

Whether Cassini will continue living will largely be a question of whether or not NASA feels they can still learn something from the data it sends.

Edited February 3, 2014 by Streetwind

[Roastduck]

Not to mention the $800 million boost to NASA's budget this year, so there will be no problems with funding just yet. All projects are still on the schedule.

[Space Viking]

So despite the mission was originally a collaboration between NASA, ESA and ASI, the current funding of Cassini is all on NASA?

I remember how hyped I was back in 2004 when Cassini had finally reached Saturn. I was dying to know what results the supplied landing probe Huygens would yield about the mysterious moon Titan. It's a shame there haven't been anything more sent there made by man.

[Roastduck]

So despite the mission was originally a collaboration between NASA, ESA and ASI, the current funding of Cassini is all on NASA?

This I didn't know. I just know that NASA's budget this year allows them to keep all their current projects going, and prevents them from having to axe certain new projects, like the SLS.

[Themohawkninja]

I hope NASA does something cool for the 100th flyby. Cassini has told us so much about Saturn and its' moons.

[Kryten]

Id really like to know, how much (and why) a rover mission can cost, if the rover is already there?!

Or any mission for which the hardware is already in place and cannot be directly physically maintained/repaired/refueled/... anyway?

Thank you for the heads up!

Spacecraft operations takes a lot of very talented, highly qualified people. Very talented, highly qualified people require big salaries. Not to mention that keeping contact at these kind of distances requires the massive, expensive-to-maintain DSN stations.

That point hasn't been reached, however, and NASA's budget actually went up this year as they got tasked with intensifying their space launch vessel development in the wake of a series of Chinese success stories that took some politicians outside their comfort zone.

There's no such thing as a monolithic 'NASA budget'. NASA gets different budget items for different divisions, and the planetary science budget (the only one relevant here) shows no sign of recovering. Retirement of active spacecraft (probably MESSENGER) is still under active consideration.

[czokletmuss]

NASA budget'. NASA gets different budget items for different divisions, and the planetary science budget (the only one relevant here) shows no sign of recovering. Retirement of active spacecraft (probably MESSENGER) is still under active consideration.

Exactly; this is what is imporant:

Source: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/casey-dreier/2014/0116-congress-restores-127-million-to-planetary-science.html

As you can see, outer planets (Cassini) aren't getting that much in comparison to Mars (rovers and satellites) or New Frontiers (New Horizon, Juno). Killing Cassini is still possible, all it takes is several more politicians willing to transfer more money to a pork barrel (is this the correct way of using this idiom btw?).

Oh and if you think it's impossible:

NASA will complete a $350 million structure to test rocket engines at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi early this year. Then, it plans to mothball the 300-foot-high, steel-frame tower for the foreseeable future.

The reason: Congress ordered the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to finish building the facility even though the agency doesn’t need it.

The tower was designed to test a GenCorp Inc. (GY) engine for a rocket program canceled in 2010. Its funding survived thanks to Mississippi Republican senators led by Roger Wicker, who crafted a provision requiring the agency to complete the work.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-08/congress-makes-nasa-finish-useless-350-million-structure.html

Yes, this is $200million more than Cassini is gettin, all because some idiots want to get reelected.

Edited February 3, 2014 by czokletmuss

[Space Viking]

A $350 millions construction frame for the sake of testing a part of an officially defunct program? That's crazy.

Atleast, a retirement of Cassini wouldn't be entirely useless on its own. It wouldn't be about the cancellation itself though, but rather a potential controlled fall into Saturn. There have also been other less likely proposals, like aerobraking into a stable orbit around Titan. Of course, I'd rather atleast see a successor being deployed before Cassini actually gets retired.

So despite the mission was originally a collaboration between NASA, ESA and ASI, the current funding of Cassini is all on NASA?

This I didn't know. I just know that NASA's budget this year allows them to keep all their current projects going, and prevents them from having to axe certain new projects, like the SLS.

I did a quick read into the matter and aside from funding the launch vehicle, it seems NASA did design the Cassini orbiter itself, so it would make sense they are the ones in direct responsibility of it. ESA share of the work was the designing of the supplied Huygens entry probe which landed on Titan.