1.

Dragonfly is expected to launch in June 2027, and will take seven years to reach Titan,
arriving by 2034.[42][43] The spacecraft will perform a gravitational assist flyby of Venus, and
three passes by Earth to gain additional velocity. [44] The spacecraft will be the first dedicated
outer solar system mission to not visit Jupiter as it will not be within the flight path at the
time of launch.[5][unreliable source?]
Entry and descentEdit
The cruise stage will separate from the entry capsule ten minutes before encountering Titan's
atmosphere.[37] The lander will descend to the surface of Titan using an aeroshell and a series
of two parachutes, while the spent cruise stage will burn up in uncontrolled atmospheric entry.
The duration of the descent phase is expected to be 105 minutes.[45] The aeroshell is derived
from the Genesis sample return capsule, and the PICA heat shield is similar to MSL and Mars
2020 design and will protect the spacecraft for the first 6 minutes of its descent. [45]
At a speed of Mach 1.5, a drogue parachute will deploy, to slow the capsule to subsonic
speeds. Due to Titan's comparably thick atmosphere and low gravity, the drogue chute
phase will last for 80 minutes.[45] A larger main parachute will replace the drogue chute
when the descent speed is sufficiently low. During the 20 minutes on the main chute, the
lander will be prepared for separation. The heat shield will be jettisoned, the landing skids
will be extended, and sensors such as radar and lidar will be activated.[45] At an altitude of
1.2 km (0.75 mi), the lander will be released from its parachute, for a powered flight to the
surface. The specific landing site and flight operation will be performed autonomously. This
is required since the high gain antenna will not be deployed during descent, and because
communication between Earth and Titan takes 70–90 minutes, each way