The spacecraft was launched on
October 15, 1997 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station using a U.S. Air Force
Titan IVB/Centaur launch vehicle. This launch vehicle is made up of a
two-stage Titan IV booster rocket, two strap-on solid rocket motors, the
Centaur upper stage, and a payload enclosure or fairing.
The Cassini spacecraft, including
the orbiter and the Huygens probe, is one of the largest, heaviest, and most
complex interplanetary spacecraft ever built. The orbiter alone will weigh
2150 kilograms (4750 pounds). When the 350-kilogram Huygens probe and a
launch vehicle adapter are attached and 3132 kilograms (6905 pounds) of
propellants are loaded, the spacecraft at launch weighed about 5600 kilograms
(12,346 pounds). Only the two Phobos spacecraft sent to Mars by the former
Soviet Union were heavier. The Cassini spacecraft stood more than 6.8 meters
(22.3 feet) high and was more than 4 meters (13.1 feet) wide. The complexity
of the spacecraft is necessitated both by its trajectory or
flight path to Saturn and
by the ambitious program of scientific observations to be undertaken once
the spacecraft reaches its destination. It will function with 1630
interconnect circuits, 22,000 wire connections, and over 14 kilometers
(8.7 miles) of cabling.
You might well ask why the
spacecraft is being built in the first place. A space mission such as
Cassini begins with a set of science goals
that the scientific community, and much of society wants to achieve. In
this case, we are hoping to obtain a better understanding of the planet
Saturn, its famous rings, its magnetosphere, its principal moon Titan, and
its other moons or "icy satellites." There are also many other
benefits, including technology spin-offs,
international cooperation, and educational motivation for people of all ages.
 Launch Vehicle |
 Orbiter |
 Probe |
