This is part three of a five-part series detailing personal accounts of NASA Glenn’s Cassini Mission launch team.
At 4:43 a.m. EST, the main boosters of the Titan IV fired and Cassini left its solid footing on terra firma.
“I had a prime viewing spot from my console in Hangar AE during the launch,” said Heinz Wimmer, project manager for NASA Glenn’s portion of the Cassini mission. “My bald spot was clearly visible on CNN.”
During launch, a handful of Glenn personnel were in and around launch control at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, monitoring the flight from liftoff through Cassini’s separation from Centaur.
“I was in the control center and provided a “go” to our chief engineer that we were good for launch,” said Glen Horvat, a member of the launch planning team. “It was a pretty intense atmosphere to be a part of, but it was really a once-in-a-lifetime kind of activity. I was very excited to be assigned to this position, and it was also quite rewarding to be part of such an outstanding team.”
Just after 5 a.m. EST, the Titan IV’s three stages had expended their fuel and the Centaur upper stage separated from the rocket. It then completed a two-minute burn to park Cassini in orbit. After approximately 20 minutes, the Centaur’s twin RL-10 rocket engines ignited for the final time, pushing Cassini out on its trajectory toward Venus for the first of several gravity assists en route to Saturn.
“As soon as the Centaur separated from Cassini, my job was pretty much over,” said Horvat. “It’s fun to think back about being part of the launch team; going from takeoff and the excitement and stress you experience waiting for everything to perform correctly to, two or three days later, you’re back at home mowing your lawn.”
The exhilaration of Cassini’s launch and its departure from Earth’s orbit were all that remained of NASA Glenn’s Centaur program. The flame of nearly 50 years of groundbreaking launch vehicle research and unparalleled exploration, all powered by Glenn’s Centaur program, burned out in a little more than an hour’s time.