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Saturn Passes Behind Sun With Cassini In Orbit

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Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 13, 2004
The Cassini spacecraft emerged from behind the Sun today after being in solar conjunction since July 5. The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired from the Deep Space Network's Goldstone tracking station near Barstow, Calif., today. The spacecraft is in excellent health and operating normally.

Just before Cassini began its transit behind the Sun, it snapped pictures of Saturn's moons Mimas, Tethys, Rhea and Iapetus.

Solar conjunction occurs when the Sun is between the spacecraft and Earth. During this time, the spacecraft conducts only limited science observations.

Command and downlink capability is reduced to a minimum, with an uplink command file consisting of 10 commands sent every five minutes, 10 to 20 times a day. The purpose of this test is to assess the spaceraft's ability to receive commands from Earth when the signal path goes so close to the Sun.

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Cassini Images Halo Around Titanic Moon Off Saturn
Pasadena CA (SPX) Dec 27, 2005
With its thick, distended atmosphere, Titan's orange globe shines softly, encircled by a thin halo of purple light-scattering haze.







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