Cassini Weekly Significant Events for 08/09/01 – 08/15/01

The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired from the Madrid
tracking station on Tuesday, August 14. The Cassini spacecraft
is in an excellent state of health and is operating normally.
Information on the spacecraft’s position
and speed can be viewed on the Present Position web page
(“http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/english/where/“).

Recent spacecraft activities include a Magnetospheric and Plasma Science
observation, two Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) High Frequency
Receiver Calibrations, and an RPWS Instrument Expanded Block Test. Real-time
commands were uplinked to the spacecraft as planned to update the
definition of the X-Band and Ka-Band body vectors, to perform routine
Command & Data Subsystem (CDS) memory readouts of the sequence
registration table and non-interfering
error logs, and to clear the AACS High Water Marks.

In support of Tour planning, a program was uplinked that will
characterize the behavior of the X-Band Traveling Wave Tube
Amplifier when operated in the manner planned to be used during
the tour. This program will execute later this week.

Mission Planning continued timeline development for tour Orbit Trim
Maneuvers (OTMs). It was determined that nominal OTMs can be placed
in the middle of nearly all expected DSN passes without encountering
background sequence telemetry mode changes, which could interfere
with storage of OTM data and subsequent science playback.

The Cassini Information Management System 1.3 was delivered. This
delivery provides Extensible Markup Language (XML) export capability
to support near-term Science Operations Plan development milestones.

The full Integration Test Laboratory retest of all modules for Mission
Sequence Subsystem D7.6 completed successfully.

Mission Support & Services Office Security personnel have begun leading
the annual Cassini security training courses, in an effort to make
sure all Cassini team members are informed of the up-to-date
security policies and procedures.

Cassini Outreach personnel made a presentation on Saturn and Cassini to
30 college and high school educators at a course jointly sponsored by JPL
and California State University, Northridge. Thirty-three Solar System
Educators were updated on Cassini results from Jupiter and practiced using an
activity from the Saturn Educator Guide. These master teachers will
share their expertise with other teachers in their communities and
elsewhere, so that more solar system exploration materials will be
used in classrooms throughout the U.S.

Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and
the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of
the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the
Cassini mission for NASA’s Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C.