Overview of the Cassini Extended Mission Trajectory

Abstract

Due to the highly successful execution of the Cassini-Huygens prime mission and the estimated propellant remaining at the conclusion of the prime mission, NASA Headquarters allocated funding for the development of a 2-year long Cassini extended mission. The resultant extended mission, stemming from 1.5 years of development, includes an additional 26 targeted Titan flybys, 9 close flybys of icy satellites, and 60 orbits about Saturn. This paper describes, in detail, the different phases of the Cassini extended mission and the associated design methodology, which attempted to maximize the number and quality of high-priority scientific objectives while minimizing the total delta v expenditure and adhering to mission-imposed constraints.