Cassini Significant Events for 08/14/03 - 08/19/03 The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired from the Canberra tracking station on Monday, August 18. The Cassini spacecraft is in an excellent state of health and is operating normally. Information on the present position and speed of the Cassini spacecraft may be found on the "Present Position" web page located at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/operations/present-position.cfm . On board activities this week included a telemetry mode test and support of a Deep Space Network array test at the Canberra complex in Australia. Instrument activities included loading the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer flight software and Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) high rate observations and HFR calibrations. The Composite Infrared Spectrometer and Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer performed preliminary tests prior to the mute tests that will execute next week. (The mute test assures that an instrument is completely quiet on the data bus when it has been muted.) A kick off meeting was held for the Verification and Validation (V&V) of the live update process. Live updates will be required during the tour when the on-board sequence requires timing or pointing changes based on updated spacecraft or satellite position information. This is a continuation of the Science and Sequence Update Process V&V performed earlier this month. RPWS has produced a pre-peer review volume of archive data, and a peer review volume of the first Gravity Wave Experiment data for Planetary Data System review. The Science Planning Virtual Team continues work on cruise sequence C42, the first approach science sequence, which includes the first set of Saturn approach movies. The Mission Support and Services office demonstrated the new Electronic Command Request Form for members of the Spacecraft Operations Office. 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. Cassini Outreach Cassini Mission to Saturn and Titan Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology National Aeronautics and Space Administration --- To unsubscribe from Cassini Spacecraft Updates, send a message to leave-cassini-29591V@list.jpl.nasa.gov --- Visit the JPL Cassini home page for more information about the Cassini Project: <http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/>
