The Rocket Lab Electron rocket sits on the platform of the company’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand for general rehearsal before the launch of CAPSTONE. Credit: Rocket Lab
NASA, Rocket Lab, and Advanced Space are withdrawing from the June 27 launch attempt of the CAPSTONE mission to the Moon to allow the Rocket Lab to conduct final system checks. The mission was scheduled to be launched on Monday 27 June aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand.
Teams are evaluating the time and other factors to determine the date of the next launch attempt. The next launch opportunity within the current period is June 28th. The design of CAPSTONE’s trajectory means that the spacecraft will reach its lunar orbit on November 13, regardless of the launch date within the current period, which offers launch opportunities every day until July 27.
Rocket Lab’s Photon satellite bus will deliver CAPSTONE on a journey to the moon. Credit: NASA Illustration / Daniel Rutter
CAPSTONE, meaning Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, will be the first spacecraft to fly a single lunar orbit before future manned missions.
The destination of this CubeSat the size of a microwave oven is an almost rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO). This same orbit is planned for Gateway, a multi-purpose outpost for long-term lunar missions as part of the agency’s Artemis program.
Team members install solar panels on the CAPSTONE spacecraft (short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment) at Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems Inc. in Irvine, California. Credit: NASA / Dominic Hart
Six days after launch, the upper stage Photon will launch CAPSTONE into space for the first part of the spacecraft’s solo flight. After a four-month trip to the Moon, CAPSTONE will test the dynamics of the NRHO for at least six months, helping to reduce the risk for future spacecraft. CAPSTONE will also demonstrate innovative spacecraft navigation technology to spacecraft and unidirectional range capabilities that could help future spacecraft fly close to the Moon with a reduced need for communication with Earth.
CAPSTONE is commercially owned and operated by Advanced Space in Westminster, Colorado, on behalf of NASA. It represents an innovative collaboration between NASA and industry to provide quick results and feedback to inform future exploration and science missions. Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, a Terran Orbital Corporation, of Irvine, California, built the spacecraft. The mission also includes contributions from Stellar Exploration Inc., Space Dynamics Lab, Tethers Unlimited Inc. and Orion Space Systems.