Cassini retirement

The Cassini space probe was deliberately disposed of via a controlled fall into Saturn's atmosphere on September 15, 2017, ending its nearly two-decade-long mission.

[5] Factors that influenced the mission end method included the amount of rocket fuel left, 33 kg (73 lb) of plutonium-238, the health of the spacecraft, and funding for operations on Earth.

[9] This would be immediately preceded by a gradual shift in inclination to better view Saturn's polar hexagon, and a flyby of Enceladus to more closely study its cryovolcanism.

[12] The predicted altitude for loss of signal was approximately 1,500 km (930 mi) above Saturn's cloud tops, when the spacecraft began to tumble and burn up like a meteor.

[13] Cassini's final transmissions were received by the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, located in Australia at 18:55:46 AEST.