This Monday, NASA launches a small satellite with a large mission. The CAPSTONE satellite (Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment) will enter an unprecedented orbit around the moon, which NASA wants to use for future lunar posts.
The satellite is launched by New Zealand-based Rocket Lab, which will use one of its Electron missiles. The launch will be broadcast live, and below we have details on how to watch from home.
What to expect from the start
Team members are installing 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. NASA / Dominic Hart
The CAPSTONE spacecraft is a small satellite called CubeSat, which will be launched as a test for NASA’s planned lunar portal. The idea is to send the small satellite into a certain orbit around the moon, called an almost rectilinear orbit of the halo. This complex orbit brings the satellite close to the moon at times and far to others in a seven-day cycle, as shown in this video posted by retired astronaut Chris Hadfield:
The orbits of the moon can look unstable, depending on where you look from. This is Halo Orbit used this weekend by CAPSTONE at @RocketLab pic.twitter.com/YB92q73y2E
– Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) June 25, 2022
This is the planned orbit for a possible outpost in an orbit around the moon, called the Gateway, as it is a stable orbit that can be maintained with little energy. However, this orbit has never been used before, so the CAPSTONE satellite was sent to test it and see if it works in practice as well as in theory.
After launching CAPSTONE, the rocket will launch the satellite in six days. The satellite will then travel for four months before arriving in orbit, where it will spend six months collecting data. In addition to testing the orbit, it will test other technologies for future lunar missions, such as communication with the Earth and a new navigation system from spacecraft to spacecraft.
How to watch the start
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket sits on the site of New Zealand’s launch complex 1 for a wet rehearsal before the CAPSTONE launch. Rocket laboratory
The launch is scheduled for 6 a.m. ET (3 a.m. PT) on Monday morning, June 27, and will take place from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand. The launch will be broadcast live by NASA, which you can watch either using the video embedded at the top of this page or by heading to NASA’s YouTube channel.
Coverage begins one hour before the first launch opportunity, at 5 a.m. ET (2 a.m. PT). Once launched, you can track CAPSTONE’s progress using the NASA Eyes website, which gives you an interactive view of NASA’s current missions.
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