QUESTION: Which launch vehicle will Cassini use? ANSWER from FAQ on June 3, 1999: Cassini will use a combination of the Titan IV launch vehicle and the Centaur upper stage to lift the spacecraft from the launch pad and get it on its interplanetary trajectory. The Titan IV was developed by Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin) under contract to the U.S. Air Force. The Titan IV is the most powerful expendable launch vehicle in the world currently in use. Cassini will be one of the first users of the Solid Rocket Motor Upgrades (SRMU), which provide even more launch energy than the Solid Rocket Motors (SRM) that are currently standard on with the Titan IV. The Titan IV will take the Centaur and the spacecraft almost all the way to Earth orbit. The Centaur was developed by General Dynamics and is the most powerful upper stage in the world. A portion of the Centaur's upper stage capability will be used to help get the spacecraft into a parking orbit. Once the parking orbit takes the spacecraft to the correct coordinates for interplanetary travel, the Centaur will fire again, helping the spacecraft to achieve the correct velocity and direction to begin its circuitous journey to Saturn.