MoreonSTL, forwhatit'sworth - fastestmanmadebuzz?
Thisisfrom Stop Cassini Web Site / What is Cassini?:
animatedsoftware.com
"Cassini is an unmanned NASA deep space probe which is scheduled to be launched in October, 1997... Although the probe will ultimately be headed towards Saturn, it will first head towards Venus and do two close flyby's of that planet. Then, in 1999, it will head BACK TOWARDS EARTH for a flyby of this planet at just 312 miles above the Earth (June 1995 NASA EIS. In the June 1997 FSEIS the figure was raised to 496 miles above the surface of the Earth). The purpose of the Venus and Earth flybys is to gain additional speed for the trip to Saturn. It will still take almost five years from the time of the flyby to the arrival in the vicinity of Saturn.
The danger of the Earth flyby is that Cassini will be traveling at more than 3,000 miles per hour (it will be the fastest object man has ever buzzed the earth with). A slight malfunction, miscalculation, or a random collision with any of billions of pieces of space debris could result in the probe, and its deadly plutonium, reentering earth's atmosphere and thereby incinerating its deadly cargo...."
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Worrywarts. Oneinamillionshot. 3000mph...fiveyearstoSaturn, ha.
Blastoff!101597. Cassini'sonitsway, TitantoTitan:
solar.rtd.utk.edu <---thanks, siteA-OK
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