Workers in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility remove the storage collar from a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) in preparation for installation on the Cassini spacecraft. Cassini will be outfitted with three RTGs. The power units are undergoing mechanical and electrical verification tests in the PHSF. The RTGs will provide electrical power to Cassini on its 6.7-year trip to the Saturnian system and during its four-year mission at Saturn. RTGs use heat from the natural decay of plutonium to generate electric power. The generators enable spacecraft to operate at great distances from the Sun where solar power systems are not feasible. The Cassini mission is targeted for an Oct. 6 launch aboard a Titan IVB/Centaur expendable launch vehicle KSC-97PC1090

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The Lower Equipment Module of the Cassini spacecraft is lifted into a workstand in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF). Cassini will explore the Saturnian system, including the planet’s rings and its moon, Titan. Launch of the Cassini mission to Saturn is scheduled for Oct. 6 from Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Air Station, aboard a Titan IVB unmanned vehicle KSC-97PC977

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Workers in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility remove the storage collar from a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) in preparation for installation on the Cassini spacecraft. Cassini will be outfitted with three RTGs. The power units are undergoing mechanical and electrical verification tests in the PHSF. The RTGs will provide electrical power to Cassini on its 6.7-year trip to the Saturnian system and during its four-year mission at Saturn. RTGs use heat from the natural decay of plutonium to generate electric power. The generators enable spacecraft to operate at great distances from the Sun where solar power systems are not feasible. The Cassini mission is targeted for an Oct. 6 launch aboard a Titan IVB/Centaur expendable launch vehicle KSC-97PC1090

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Workers in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility remove the storage collar from a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) in preparation for installation on the Cassini spacecraft. Cassini will be outfitted with three RTGs. The power units are undergoing mechanical and electrical verification tests in the PHSF. The RTGs will provide electrical power to Cassini on its 6.7-year trip to the Saturnian system and during its four-year mission at Saturn. RTGs use heat from the natural decay of plutonium to generate electric power. The generators enable spacecraft to operate at great distances from the Sun where solar power systems are not feasible. The Cassini mission is targeted for an Oct. 6 launch aboard a Titan IVB/Centaur expendable launch vehicle