CAPSTONE in orbit near the Moon: Once released from Rocket Lab’s Photon satellite bus, CAPSTONE will use its propulsion system to travel for approximately three months before entering orbit around the Moon. Credit: NASA Illustration / Daniel Rutter
The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System (CAPSTONE) Navigation and Operations Experiment, a small CubeSat, the size of a microwave oven and weighing only 55 pounds (25 kg), has left the low orbit of the Earth and has begun his solo journey to the Moon.
Following its launch on June 28, CAPSTONE orbited Earth connected to Rocket Lab’s upper stage Photon, which maneuvered CAPSTONE into position for its journey to the Moon. Photon’s engines fired seven times over the past six days at key moments to elevate the orbit’s highest point to about 810,000 miles (1,300,000 km) from Earth before releasing the CAPSTONE CubeSat in its lunar ballistic transfer trajectory to the Moon. The spacecraft is being flown by the Advanced Space and Terran Orbital teams.
CAPSTONE communicates with Earth through NASA’s deep space network en route to the Moon.
Now, CAPSTONE will use its own propulsion and gravity from the Sun to navigate the rest of the way to the Moon, a four-month journey that will cause CAPSTONE to insert itself into its rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the Moon on November 13, 2022. The gravity-driven track will drastically reduce the amount of fuel the CubeSat needs to reach its target orbit around the Moon.
NRHO is a significantly elongated orbit, located at a point of precise equilibrium of the gravitational attractions of the Earth and the Moon. It provides stability for long-term missions like Gateway and requires minimal energy to maintain it. CAPSTONE’s orbit also establishes a location that is an ideal area for missions to the Moon and beyond. The orbit will take CAPSTONE 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from one lunar pole to its nearest step and 43,500 miles (70,000 km) from the other pole to its peak every seven days, requiring less propulsion capacity for spacecraft. flying to and from the Moon. surface than other circular orbits.
In the next few days, you’ll be able to follow CAPSTONE’s journey live by viewing NASA’s real-time interactive 3D data, virtually happening with CubeSat with a simulated view of our solar system.