NASA has announced plans to launch the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) into lunar orbit on June 27.
The space agency says CAPSTONE will be “the first spacecraft to fly in a specific unique lunar orbit before future manned missions.” It is scheduled to take off from New Zealand at 6 a.m. ET, and NASA plans to broadcast the launch via its website, mobile apps and YouTube.
NASA says on its website (Opens in new window) that “as a guide to the Gateway, an orbital post that is part of NASA’s Artemis program, CAPSTONE will help reduce the risk to future spacecraft by validating innovative navigation technologies. and verifying the dynamics of this halo-shaped orbit. “
The space agency says (Opens in new window) that “CAPSTONE will also demonstrate innovative space-to-space navigation technology and one-way range capabilities that could help future spacecraft fly close to the moon with reduced space. need to communicate with the Earth. “
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All this will be achieved with a satellite that is said to be the size of a microwave oven. NASA says it will launch a Rocket Lab Electron rocket, take four months to reach the moon, and then spend at least six months analyzing its near-rectilinear orbit.
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