On 3 December, the Jupiter-bound spacecraft is due to pass Earth at roughly 3,200 kilometres altitude. Coming home is how it keeps going.

The clock is not chosen first. It is the visible edge of a trajectory, a safety case, a weather rulebook and a machine that all have to agree.

A pad is not just a pin on a map. Coastline, latitude, range safety and the target orbit determine what can leave—and what people on the ground might see.