Using astrometric observations spanning more than a century and including a large set of

Tidal effects in planetary systems are the main driver in the orbital migration of natural satellites. They result from physical processes occurring deep inside celestial bodies, whose effects are rarely observable from surface imaging. For giant planet systems, the tidal migration rate is determined by poorly understood dissipative processes in the planet, and standard theories suggest an orbital expansion rate inversely proportional to the power 11/2 in distance 1 , implying little migration for outer moons such as Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Here, we use two independent measurements obtained with the Cassini spacecraft to measure Titans orbital expansion rate. We find Titan migrates away from Saturn at 11.3 ± 2.0 cm/year, corresponding to a tidal quality factor of Saturn of Q ' 100, and a migration timescale of roughly 10 Gyr. This rapid orbital expansion suggests Titan formed significantly closer to Saturn and has migrated outward to its current position. Our results for Titan and five other moons agree with the predictions of a resonance locking tidal theory 2 , sustained by excitation of inertial waves inside the planet. The associated tidal expansion is only weakly sensitive to orbital distance, motivating a revision of the evolutionary history of Saturns moon system. The resonance locking mechanism could operate in other systems such as stellar binaries and exoplanet systems, and it may allow for tidal dissipation to occur at larger orbital separations than previously believed.Saturn is orbited by 62 moons, and the intricate dynamics of this complex system provide clues about its formation and evolution. Of crucial importance are tidal interactions between the moons and the planet. Each moon raises a tidal bulge in the planet, and because Saturn rotates faster than the moons orbit, frictional processes within the planet cause the tidal bulge to lead in front of each moon. Each moon's tidal bulge pulls the moon forward such that it gains angular momentum and migrates outward, similar to the tidal evolution of the Earth-Moon system. However, in giant planets such as Saturn, the dissipative processes that determine the bulge lag 2