A small satellite is ready to start something far more spectacular: a full-fledged lunar space station. NASA’s CAPSTONE satellite is scheduled to launch on Monday and then travel to a unique lunar orbit on a mission to track the Artemis program, which seeks to bring people back to the moon later this decade.
CAPSTONE is boarding the Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket, which will take off from the launch complex 1 of the private company in Mahia, New Zealand. Rocket Lab made headlines in May, using a helicopter to catch a falling launch vehicle. The launch of CAPSTONE is scheduled for 6 a.m. ET on June 27, with the live broadcast starting an hour earlier. You can catch the action on the agency’s website or app, or you can watch it in the live bar below.
NASA Live: Official stream of NASA TV
Approximately one week after the CAPSTONE mission, the probe’s journey will be made available through interactive real-time visualization of NASA’s Eyes of the Solar System.
The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) mission will send a microwave-sized satellite to an almost rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the moon. The satellite will be the first to orbit this unique lunar orbit, testing it for the planned lunar portal, a small space station designed to allow a permanent human presence on the moon.
NRHO is special in that it is the place where gravity from the Moon and Earth interact; this orbit would theoretically hold a spacecraft in a “gravitational sweet spot” in an almost stable orbit around the moon, according to NASA. NRHO is therefore ideal, as it will require less fuel than conventional orbits and will allow the proposed lunar space station to maintain a constant line of communication with Earth. But before NASA builds its Gateway in this highly elliptical orbit, the space agency will use CAPSTONE – owned and operated by Colorado-based Advanced Space – to test its orbital models.
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The artist’s concept for CAPSTONE. Gif: NASA / Daniel Rutter
Six days after launching from Earth, the upper stage of the Electron rocket will release the CAPSTONE satellite during its journey to the moon. The 55-pound (25-pound) cubesat will then complete the rest of its four-month journey on its own. Once on the moon, CAPSTONE will test the orbital dynamics of its orbit for about six months. The satellite will also be used to test spacecraft-to-space navigation technology and one-way range capabilities, which could ultimately reduce the need for future spacecraft to communicate with Earth mission controllers and wait for signals from others. space ships.
NASA is methodically collecting pieces for the agency’s planned return to the moon. The space agency’s fourth and newest wet dress rehearsal for the Space Launch System (SLS) went well, paving the way for a possible launch in late August.
More: This small moon-bound satellite could carve a path to a lunar space station
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