Before Cassini can get fully underway to Saturn, it must first orbit Venus a couple of times. Then it returns to Earth. Hopefully, it will skip off Earth's atmosphere and be on its merry way to Saturn. However, a fraction of a degree off and it will burn-up in our sky, raining plutonium on our parade. This doesn't necessarily mean Cassini will crash back into Earth, but even the horror of that possibility may be enough to put us through some necessary changes.
Many experts believe that our greatest nuclear threat is now from accident or neglect.
A dangerous situation presently exists in the country formerly known as the Soviet Union, with its suitcase bombs, black market, and automatic remote-activated warheads. It is amazing that a catastrophic nuclear accident has not yet happened, despite the growing probability of one. It seems Providence is still a player. The Break Age has occurred. The momentum is already set in motion.