
A spacecraft named after the late astronomer Carl Sagan has been named after Russian cosmonaut Alexander Cassini.
The Cassini spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday.
It is one of the most famous space missions in history.
But for some, the name Cassini is now a symbol of the cold war.
NASA said the naming of the Cassini probe, launched on March 9, was made to honor Russian cosman Alexander Cassani.
NASA/Kirill Kudryavtsev Cassini was a pioneer in deep space exploration and the first spacecraft to fly on a mission to the Saturn system.
He was also known for developing the first ever instrument for measuring the gravitational field of the Earth, which became the instrument for the first probe to fly in space.
He died in 2012.
According to NASA, the spacecraft is called Cassini-Huygens for the Greek word for water.
Cassini launched on the first launch of the Saturn V rocket on March 10, 1999.
It was named after Cassini and her crew.
The mission took place on the day that the Soviets began their space program.
“We are very grateful to the Cassinis and to all those who made this possible,” NASA said in a statement.
Cassini is named for the late Russian cosmologist and engineer Alexander Cassin and was built in the Soviet Union.
NASA’s space agency has named the spacecraft the Cassino-Hoyna spacecraft after the Greek goddess of wisdom.