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Article: Fears about spacecraft flyby largely unfounded; Critics say a mishap could cause the Saturn-bound Cassini to reenter Earth's atmosphere and blow up, but advocates say the chances are almost nil.(NEWS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- August 17, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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CORRECTION PUBLISHED 08/18/99: A graphic that appeared with this article had two errors. The Earth flyby was Tuesday night, 08/17/99, not Monday, 08/16/99. The first Venus flyby was in April 1998, not 1997.
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1/3 Need something to worry about? Take a deep breath at 10:28 tonight, when the controversial Cassini spacecraft flies by the Earth.
Launched in October 1997 on a voyage to Saturn and its moons, Cassini will pass as close as 725 miles from Earth - virtually at our front door by celestial standards - after having logged more than 1 billion miles so far.
The spacecraft is coming back for a "gravity assist" ...