Cassini Saturn-Orbiter
The Cassini Saturn-Orbiter Spacecraft
The Illustrations below are provided to help the reader become familiar with complex interplanetary spacecraft, as discussed in Section II, Flight Projects. Many of Cassini's components are typical of the on-board systems, subsystems, and assemblies discussed elsewhere in Basics of Space Flight.
The images below show the Saturn Orbiter Spacecraft viewed from opposite sides. They were taken while the spacecraft was in preparation for launch in October 1997. The extensive thermal blanketing had not yet been installed on the spacecraft, so nearly all the spacecraft's components are visible. Many red covers, "REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT" can be seen protecting instrument apertures and thermal control louvers.
The Cassini probe undergoes vibration and thermal testing at the JPL facilities in Pasadena, California.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
