THIS DAY IN HISTORY: Cassini Spacecraft Made First Flyby of Venus 20 Years Ago

By  //  April 26, 2018

Cassini ended its mission on september 15, 2018

ABOVE VIDEO: Crashing Into Saturn – This Cassini Mission Is the Most Epic Yet.

APRIL 26, 1998 – Cassini made its first flyby of Venus 20 years ago on this day.

The flyby gave the spacecraft a boost in speed that would help it on its trajectory to Saturn.

But another flyby of Venus and the Earth in 1999, plus a gravity assist from Jupiter in 2000, were needed to get Cassini to Saturn in the summer of 2004.

On September 15 last year, Cassini ended the mission which began in October 1997.

Over the course of nearly 20 years, the spacecraft explored Saturn and its moons – and other parts of our Solar System along the way.

Cassini made its first flyby of Venus 20 years ago on this day. (NASA Image)

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