Huygens Ready for the Final Plunge / ESA TV Exchanges / 15-12-2004

The next transmission of the ESA TV Service will be:

15-Dec-04 10:00 – 10:15 GMT

Huygens Ready for the Final Plunge

ESA TV Exchanges

Background information on the transmission:

Replay I: 15 December 15:00-15:15 GMT

Replay II: 18 December 11:30 -11:45 GMT

Europe’s Huygens probe has covered billions of kilometres, during a seven-year flight from Earth to Saturn. Now, the moment of the release of Huygens onto a trajectory to Titan is approaching, and scientists and engineers need maximum confidence in the readyness of the space probe for its short but critical mission.

Today’s programme provides a detailed overview of the tests that were performed and the safeguards built into the system to maximise chances for misison success. It includes images from a recent check-out at ESOC, where the functioning of Huygens systems was tested.

The script is online under http://television.esa.int/photos/ESATV15122004.pdf

Transmission of this Exchange on 15 December is not on EbS (because of the EuroTop) but on Eutelsat W1 – for the transmission details, see below.

The second replay on 18 December will be on EbS – for the transmission details, see the ESA TV Website.

More background information can be found on www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens.

Transmission details:On 15 December only:

Eutelsat W1 at 10 degrees east, Transponder B4 Middle 1 (SCPC), vertical, F=11079 MHz, SR=5.632 MS/sec, FEC=3/4

For further information, visit our website at http://television.esa.int. For other enquires, contact Claus Habfast, Tel +31 71 565 3838, Fax +31 71 565 6340, e-mail claus.habfast@esa.int.