June – NASA celebrated the five year anniversary of the Cassini probe’s arrival at Saturn. The mission’s extension, through September 2010, was named for the Saturnian equinox, which occurred in August 2009 when the sun shone directly on the equator and began to illuminate the northern hemisphere and the rings’ northern face. Cassini is observing seasonal changes brought by the changing sun angle on Saturn, the rings and moons, which were illuminated from the south during the mission’s first four years.

Click here to view this event in the SSPI Satellite Industry Timeline.

Visit the SSPI Satellite Industry Timeline to tour the decades of the Satellite Era.

The SSPI Satellite Timeline is the first interactive site on the Web to chronicle the rich and diverse history of the commercial satellite industry. Launched in October 2007 – the 50th anniversary of Sputnik – the Timeline is a learning tool for satellite professionals, students, the news media and the innovative companies that make up the industry.