After a remarkable 20-year voyage in space, NASA's Cassini spacecraft will make its grand exit this week as it disintegrates in Saturn's atmosphere.
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Friday's final plunge is the last of Cassini's epic Grand Finale, a series of 22 daring weekly dives that began in late April.
According to NASA, at approximately 7:54 a.m. EST Friday the Cassini spacecraft will enter Saturn's atmosphere from about 1,190 miles above the planet's cloud tops and at a speed of 70,000 miles per hour.
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NASA’s Deep Space Network (in Canberra, Australia) predicts it will lose contact with the spacecraft at approximately 7:55 a.m. EST, as Cassini hovers approximately 930 miles above Saturn’s cloud tops.
At that point, the beloved NASA spacecraft will “burn up like a meteor” and shortly come apart.
Within a couple minutes of losing signal with NASA, “all remnants of the spacecraft are expected to be completely consumed in the atmosphere of Saturn.”
How to watch Cassini’s Grand Finale online
Tune in at 7 a.m. Friday for the live event and commentary through any of the following channels:
Be sure to tune in to NASA's Facebook page and @CassiniSaturn on Twitter for more live coverage.
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You can also see some of Cassini's final views before its death beginning Thursday, Sept. 14 around 11 p.m. EST at saturn.jpl.nasa.gov.
Launched in October 1997, the $3.2 billion collaborative mission between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency led to a number of monumental discoveries, especially during the Cassini spacecraft’s 13-plus years on Saturn.
Read more about Cassini and its Grand Finale at saturn.jpl.nasa.gov.
