A small satellite is preparing to pave the way for something much bigger: a fully grown lunar space station. NASA’s CAPSTONE satellite is scheduled to launch on Monday and then travel to a unique lunar orbit under the Pathfinder Artemis mission program, which seeks to bring humans back to the moon later this decade.
capstone He is riding aboard the Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket, which will take off from the launch complex 1 of a private company in Mahia, New Zealand. Rocket Lab made headlines in May using a helicopter to catch a falling launch vehicle. CAPSTONE is scheduled to launch at 6 a.m. ET on June 27, with the live broadcast starting one hour earlier. You can watch the event on the agency’s website or ApplicationOr, you can watch it live below.
NASA Live: The official NASA TV show
About a week after the CAPSTONE mission, the probe’s flight will be available through NASA Eyes’ solar interactive 3D real-time data visualization system.
The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) mission will send a microwave-sized satellite into near-corona orbit (NRHO) around the moon. The satellite will be the first to orbit this unique lunar orbit, testing it for the planned date, the small Moon Gatea space station, designed to allow a permanent human presence on the moon.
NRHO is special in that the gravitational force of the Moon and Earth interact there. This orbit would theoretically keep the spacecraft in a “beautiful gravitational place” in an almost stable orbit around the moon, according to NASA. NRHO is therefore ideal because it will require less fuel than conventional orbits and will allow the proposed lunar space station to maintain a stable line of communication with Earth. But before NASA builds its portal 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 launch from Earth, the upper stage of the Electron rocket will launch the CAPSTONE satellite during its journey to the moon. The 55-kilogram (25-kilogram) vehicle in the cube will complete the rest of the four-month solo trip. 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 navigation technology from spacecraft to spacecraft 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 other spacecraft. to forward.
NASA is systematically assembling the pieces for the agency’s planned return to the moon. The space agency’s fourth and final rehearsal for the Space Launch System (SLS) paved the way for a possible launch in late August.
more: This small satellite connected to the Moon can make its way to the lunar space station
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