The Cassini Spacecraft Design and Operations

Designed and funded in the pre-'better, faster, cheaper' era, Cassini was built to be the one mission to Saturn for many years to come. Its complement of twelve Orbiter science instruments and the Huygens Probe make Cassini one of the most complex missions ever flown. With a seven-year cruise and Saturn Orbit Insertion now over, Cassini is settling in to perform a very ambitious prime mission over the next four years. This paper provides an overview of the spacecraft design and the mission operations to date.