NASA’s CAPSTONE CubeSat, which launched on June 28, is just one day away from going to the moon. The CubeSat was launched by Rocket Lab from Mahia in New Zealand at 15:36 IST as the start of NASA’s mission to return astronauts to the lunar surface. In a recent update, Rocket Lab, which leased its Electron rocket to NASA for the mission, revealed that engineers will now send CAPSTONE on what they call a lunar ballistic transfer to reach the moon.
Only one final burn of the Lunar Photon’s HyperCurie engine remains! As early as 6:56 UTC on July 4th, we will send #CAPSTONE on a ballistic lunar transfer to the Moon. Here’s how pic.twitter.com/uNokKBOpmK
— Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) July 2, 2022
The CAPSTONE mission
Before we get into how the engineers would get CAPSTONE to reach its target, let’s first take a brief look at the mission objective. This mission, or CubeSat, aims to test and verify a near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the Moon, which is considered gravitationally stable. The testing and verification of this orbit is necessary because this is where the lunar portal designed to support NASA’s Artemis program will be installed.
Gateway is envisioned as a space station in lunar orbit to provide astronauts with living quarters, access to the lunar surface, a science and research laboratory, and ports for visiting spacecraft. Additionally, NASA aims to test a navigation system developed by Advanced Space that will measure its absolute position in orbit by interacting with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) without relying on ground stations for navigational support.
CAPSTONE transfer to lunar orbit
The next and final burn is intended to place CAPSTONE on a ballistic lunar transfer trajectory to the Moon traveling at 24,500 mph (39,400 km/h) to be released from Earth orbit. This final maneuver is currently scheduled to take place on July 4 at the earliest. pic.twitter.com/Ilp4xqB5VK
— Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) July 1, 2022
To accomplish a lunar ballistic transfer, Rocket Lab engineers perform a series of orbital lift burns to maneuver the CubeSat and cause it to leave Earth orbit. It’s worth noting that while CAPSTONE was launched into low Earth orbit (LEO), the CubeSat is actually attached to a secondary rocket called Photon that will carry it beyond LEO. Since June 28, engineers have performed seven burns, with the eighth and final burn scheduled for 12:26 a.m. on July 4.
(Illustration of CAPSTONE orbital burns; Image: Rocket Lab)
During its eighth burn, the CubeSat will be approximately 13 lakh kilometers from Earth. According to Rocket Lab, the CAPSTONE Photon carrier is equipped with a small Hyper Curie engine that has propelled the CubeSat about 4 lakh kilometers from Earth. On July 4, this engine will finally inject the CAPSTONE into lunar orbit after accelerating to 39,400 km per hour.
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