From the Project Manager

Galileo's interplanetary "science of opportunity" is nearing completion. It has far exceeded all expectations. Not only did we perform the second asteroid encounter, but that encounter with Ida resulted in the discovery of a satellite of Ida--the first ever sighting of an asteroid satellite. This is science of the first magnitude. And, what an interesting parallel with our namesake's discovery of Jupiter's satellites. In just a few more days, we will complete the playback of virtually all the high-priority Ida data from the spacecraft tape recorder right on schedule thanks to the excellent performance of the DSN, MOSO (Multimission Operations Systems Office), and the Galileo Flight Team.