At the end of the science phase and a mission extension, the spacecraft was powered down and decommissioned over a five-day period.
In November 2012, a mission extension lasting until December 2014 was approved.
The fifth mission extension was granted in October 2007, and ran to the end of 2009.
These mission extensions are as exciting as it gets.
The satellites carry additional consumables to enable mission extension to at least 12 years.
Its glory days were over by 2030, but with two low-budget mission extensions it had continued in limited use until only three years earlier.
Originally intended to serve a two-year mission, a mission extension through 2012 was approved in October 2009.
Cassini completed its prime mission in 2008 and has had two additional mission extensions.
The post-spacecraft mission extension ran 2.4 hours before executing the deorbit burn.
The post-spacecraft mission extension ran 2.4 hours before the planned deorbit burn was executed.