QUESTION:
What if something goes wrong with the spacecraft? Do we have to wait an hour to learn about it?

ANSWER from FAQ on June 11, 1999:
Yes, we do have to wait to learn about it, but Cassini might be able to
take care of itself in the meantime. Much planning has been done for
when things don't go as planned. Many of Cassini's parts have backups
that can be activated by command from Earth, or in some cases turned on
automatically by the spacecraft. For example, Cassini has two radio
receivers. If one should fail, the spacecraft's carefully planned
software would "realize" that it hasn't heard from Earth in a while, and
it would automatically switch to the backup receiver and listen for
further instructions. Cassini's capabilities for detecting and handling
problems by itself are collectively called "fault protection".