Cassini used Titan flybys as gravity assists around Saturn
Once in orbit at Saturn, Cassini repeatedly skimmed past giant moon Titan, stealing tiny velocity changes that reshaped its path — gravity assists used inside one planetary system rather than only between worlds.
Those Titan tweaks opened polar orbits, ring-grazing passes, and the final Grand Finale dives without hauling huge fuel reserves. Mission designers treated Titan as a living thruster attached to Saturn.
Moons can be flight hardware. Cassini proved a planet’s satellite can steer a spacecraft tour as effectively as an interplanetary slingshot.
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