Nov 13 1990
From The Space Library
The Galileo spacecraft, launched from Space Shuttle Atlantis October 18, 1989, fired its thrusters so it could come closer to Earth and use our planet's gravity to slingshot in December toward the sun for a 1995 rendezvous with Jupiter. The fly-by would mark the first time Earth had been approached by a spacecraft from Venus, or anywhere inside Earth's orbit. The craft was scheduled to study Earth during the maneuver, slingshot the sun and study our planet again on the return trip in 1992, and then study Jupiter's atmosphere for two more years after reaching the planet. The loop around the solar system was necessary because the rocket that launched the craft was too weak to propel Galileo directly on its two-year trip to Jupiter. (Fla Today, Nov 14/90; P Inq, Nov 14/90)
NASA selected investigators and science teams from 11 U.S. universities, 3 NASA centers, 3 other U.S. laboratories, and 13 foreign countries for the Saturn orbiter portion of the Cassini mission scheduled for launch in 1996. The mission would include 62 investigations for analysis of Saturn's atmosphere, its ring particles, and moons within them. The orbiter would also send a probe to Saturn's moon, Titan, and later map it. (NASA Release 90-150)
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