Long-Distance Repair for Cassini

by Paul Gilster | Oct 25, 2004 | Autonomy and Robotics

Apropos of the Cassini material below, IEEE Spectrum Online is running a remarkable story telling how a Swedish engineer discovered a potentially fatal flaw in the communications procedures between Cassini and the Huygens probe that will land on Titan. Corrections to Cassini’s trajectory may have saved the mission. Must reading on the subject of spacecraft autonomy and repair.

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In Centauri Dreams, Paul Gilster looks at peer-reviewed research on deep space exploration, with an eye toward interstellar possibilities. For many years this site coordinated its efforts with the Tau Zero Foundation. It now serves as an independent forum for deep space news and ideas. In the logo above, the leftmost star is Alpha Centauri, a triple system closer than any other star, and a primary target for early interstellar probes. To its right is Beta Centauri (not a part of the Alpha Centauri system), with Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon Crucis, stars in the Southern Cross, visible at the far right (image courtesy of Marco Lorenzi).

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Long-Distance Repair for Cassini

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