All eyes were on Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) on Friday night as Cassini's epic 20 year voyage across the solar system came to an end.
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It was all up to the Canberra scientists to track and control Cassini's last moments, receiving its last data before it took its deadly plunge into Saturn's atmosphere at 9.55pm.
Launched in 1997, the spacecraft was a joint endeavour of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.
It spent the past 13 years studying Saturn and its moons before running out of of fuel.
The final transmissions allowed scientists to gather data and pictures on never before seen parts of Saturn.
Director of CDSCC Ed Kruzins, who was in the control room for Cassini's final moments, said the atmosphere was electric.
They were stunned by the accuracy of NASA's prediction of when they would lose contact with Cassini.
Dr Kruzins said Cassini's final moments were carefully planned, knowing they only got one shot at it.
He said it was exciting to know Australia had played such a vital role in the mission - the first dedicated to studying Saturn.
"You're always a little bit concerned when the whole world's watching," Dr Kruzins said.
"It was electric, we were monitoring the carrier signal from the spacecraft and wondering which frequency would go down first.
"It was exciting to watch the signal then suddenly we realised it was the end of the mission and it was a little sad.
"We were awestruck by how accurately entry had been predicated and then there was a sudden quietness afterwards when we realised, oh it is actually all over."
The project made groundbreaking discoveries, including the presence of possible precursors to life on two of Saturn's moons.
The need to protect those moons from contamination was the reason Cassini had to be sent hurtling into Saturn - NASA could not risk it landing on one of the moons.
The Canberra station is one of NASA's three tracking stations around the world that provide vital two-way radio contact with spacecraft like Cassini.
"When we heard from Nasa that all signals had now been lost, we gave each other high fives," Dr Kruzins said.
"We got together in a group photo of the historical event and I gave a small speech to the crews to say how well they had all done."
Arriving home about 12.30am, Dr Kruzins said he was far too excited to sleep.
But come Monday it was just another day in the office at the CDSCC, as the team continued to monitor the 40 other missions it is involved in.
