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
Today (June 28, 2022) Rocket Lab has launched a CubeSat on a historic research mission to the Moon to support NASA’s Artemis program.
NASA’s CAPSTONE, a CubeSat designed to test a single lunar orbit, is safely in space and in the first leg of its journey to the moon. The spacecraft is on its way to an orbit destined for the future at Gateway, a lunar space station built by NASA and its commercial and international partners that will support NASA’s Artemis program, including astronaut missions to Moon.
The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Operations and Navigation Experiment, or CAPSTONE, mission was launched at 5:55 am EDT (2:55 am PDT / 09:55 UTC) on the Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 to the Mahia peninsula. Tuesday in New Zealand.
An image of the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Operations and Navigation Experiment, or CAPSTONE, launching aboard the Rocket Lab Electron Rocket from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand on Tuesday June 28, 2022. Credit: Rocket Lab
“CAPSTONE is an example of how working with business partners is key to NASA’s ambitious plans to explore the Moon and beyond,” said Jim Reuter, associate director of the Space Technology Mission Directorate. “We are delighted to have successfully begun the mission and look forward to what CAPSTONE will do once it reaches the Moon.”
CAPSTONE is currently in low Earth orbit and the spacecraft will take about four months to reach its target lunar orbit. The public is invited to follow the spacecraft’s journey live by viewing real-time interactive 3D data from NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System. Starting about a week after launch, you can travel virtually along with CubeSat with a simulated view of our solar system. NASA will post updates on when to view CAPSTONE on display on the NASA Ames Research Center homepage, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.
CAPSTONE is joined by Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon, a third interplanetary stage that will send CAPSTONE on its way to deep space. Shortly after launch, Lunar Photon split from Electron’s second stage. Over the next six days, Photon’s engine periodically starts to accelerate beyond low Earth orbit, where Photon will release the CubeSat on a ballistic lunar transfer trajectory to the Moon. CAPSTONE will then use its own propulsion and the gravity of the Sun to navigate the rest of the way to the Moon. The gravity-powered track will drastically reduce the amount of fuel the CubeSat needs to reach the Moon.
“Delivering the spacecraft for launch was a success for the entire mission team, including NASA and our industry partners. Our team is preparing for the separation and initial acquisition of the spacecraft in six days, ”said Bradley Cheetham, CAPSTONE principal investigator and executive director of Advanced Space, which owns and operates CAPSTONE on behalf of NASA. “We’ve learned a lot to get to this point, and we’re passionate about the importance of humans returning to the moon, this time to stay!”
On the Moon, CAPSTONE will enter an elongated orbit called an almost rectilinear halo orbit or NRHO. Once at the NRHO, CAPSTONE will fly 1,000 miles from the North Pole of the Moon at its nearest step and 43,500 miles from the South Pole at its farthest point. It will repeat the cycle every six and a half days and maintain this orbit for at least six months to study the dynamics.
“CAPSTONE is a pioneer in many ways and will demonstrate a variety of technological capabilities during the time period of its mission as it navigates an orbit never flown around the Moon,” said Elwood Agasid, CAPSTONE project director at the Research Center NASA’s Ames to California Silicon. Vall. “CAPSTONE is laying the groundwork for Artemis, Gateway and commercial support for future lunar operations.”
During its mission, CAPSTONE will provide data on the operation in an NRHO and showcase key technologies. The mission’s Cislunar autonomous positioning system, developed by Advanced Space with support from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program, is a spacecraft navigation and communications system that will work with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to determine distance between the two spacecraft in lunar orbit. . This technology could allow future spacecraft to determine their position in space without relying solely on tracking from Earth. CAPSTONE also includes a new unidirectional precision range capability built into its radio that could reduce the amount of terrestrial network time required for space operations.
In addition to hosting the launch of CAPSTONE in New Zealand, the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and a team led by the University of Canterbury are collaborating with NASA in a research effort to track spacecraft in orbit of the Moon. New Zealand helped develop the Artemis Agreements, which set out a practical set of principles to guide cooperation in space exploration between nations participating in NASA’s 21st century lunar exploration plans. In May 2021, New Zealand was the 11th country to sign the Artemis Accords.
The CubeSat the size of a microwave oven was designed and built by Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, a Terran Orbital Corporation. CAPSTONE includes contributions from Stellar Exploration, Inc., Space Dynamics Lab, Tethers Unlimited, Inc. and Orion Space Systems. NASA’s small spacecraft technology program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Management (STMD) funds the demonstration mission. The program is based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. The development of CAPSTONE’s navigation technology is supported by NASA’s Small Business Innovation and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR / STTR) research program, also within STMD. The Artemis Campaign Development Division within NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate funds the launch and supports the mission’s operations. The launch service program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida manages the launch service. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory supports telemetry communication, tracking, and downlink using NASA’s deep space network, Iris radio design, and innovative one-way navigation algorithms.