The CAPSTONE mission launched on June 28, 2022.. Rocket Lab’s Photon
satellite bus delivered CAPSTONE into a trajectory toward the Moon. Credits:
Illustration by NASA/Daniel Rutter
A microwave oven–sized CubeSat weighing just 55 pounds will
serve as the first spacecraft to test a unique, elliptical lunar orbit as part
of the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and
Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE). As a pathfinder for Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost that is part of NASA’s Artemis program, CAPSTONE will help reduce risk for
future spacecraft by validating innovative navigation technologies and
verifying the dynamics of this halo-shaped orbit
The orbit, formally known as a near rectilinear halo orbit
(NRHO), is significantly elongated. Its location at a precise balance point in
the gravities of Earth and the Moon, offers stability for long-term missions
like Gateway and requires minimal energy to maintain. CAPSTONE’s orbit also
establishes a location that is an ideal staging area for missions to the Moon
and beyond. The orbit will bring CAPSTONE within 1,000 miles of one lunar pole
on its near pass and 43,500 miles from the other pole at its peak every seven
days, requiring less propulsion capability for spacecraft flying to and from
the Moon’s surface than other circular orbits.
CAPSTONE revealed in lunar Sunrise: CAPSTONE will fly in cislunar space – the orbital space near and around the Moon. The mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Credits: Illustration by NASA/Daniel Rutter
After a four-month journey to its target destination, CAPSTONE will orbit
this area around the Moon for at least six months to understand the
characteristics of the orbit. Specifically, it will validate the power and
propulsion requirements for maintaining its orbit as predicted by NASA’s
models, reducing logistical uncertainties. It will also demonstrate the
reliability of innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solutions as well
as communication capabilities with Earth. The NRHO provides the advantage of an
unobstructed view of Earth in addition to coverage of the lunar South Pole.
To test these new navigation capabilities, CAPSTONE has a second dedicated
payload flight computer and radio that will perform calculations to determine
where the CubeSat is in its orbital path. Circling the Moon since 2009,
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) will serve as a reference point for CAPSTONE. The intention is
for CAPSTONE to communicate directly with LRO and utilize the data obtained
from this crosslink to measure how far it is from LRO and how fast the distance
between the two changes, which in turn determines CAPSTONE’s position in space.
CAPSTONE in orbit near the Moon: Once released from Rocket Lab’s Photon satellite bus, CAPSTONE will use its propulsion system to travel for approximately three months before entering into orbit around the Moon. Credits: Illustration by NASA/Daniel Rutter
This peer-to-peer information will be used to evaluate CAPSTONE’s
autonomous navigation software. If successful, this software, referred to as
the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System (CAPS), will allow future spacecraft
to determine their location without having to rely exclusively on tracking
from Earth. This capability could enable future technology demonstrations to
perform on their own without support from the ground and allow ground-based
antennas to prioritize valuable science data over more routine operational
tracking.
CAPSTONE launched on June 28, 2022 aboard a Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket
from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. With a highly ambitious
schedule, CAPSTONE will demonstrate key commercial capabilities. NASA partners
will test cutting-edge tools for mission planning and operations, paving the
way and expanding opportunities for small and more affordable space and
exploration missions to the Moon, Mars and other destinations throughout the
solar system.
CAPSTONE over the lunar North Pole: After arrival at the Moon, CAPSTONE will
begin its 6-month-long primary mission. The mission will validate a near
rectilinear halo orbit’s characteristics by demonstrating how to enter into and
operate in the orbit. Credits: Illustration by NASA/Daniel Rutter
Mission objectives:
- Verify the characteristics of a cis-lunar near
rectilinear halo orbit for future spacecraft
- Demonstrate entering and maintaining this unique
orbit that provides a highly-efficient path to the Moon’s surface and back
- Demonstrate spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation
services that allow future spacecraft to determine their location
relative to the Moon without relying exclusively on tracking from Earth
- Lay a foundation for commercial support of future
lunar operations
- Gain experience with small dedicated launches of
CubeSats beyond low-Earth orbit, to the Moon, and beyond
Partners:
- Advanced Space of Westminster, Colorado, is
developing and operating CAPSTONE.
- Terran Orbital Corporation, of Irvine,
California, is building the CubeSat platform.
- Stellar Exploration, Inc. of San Luis Obispo,
California, is providing CAPSTONE’s propulsion system.
- Rocket Lab of Long Beach, California,
is providing launch services. The launch is managed by NASA’s Launch
Services Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
- NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology
program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate is
managing the CAPSTONE project. The program is based at NASA’s Ames
Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
- NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems within the
agency’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate is funding
the launch and supporting mission operations.
- The development of CAPS is supported by NASA's
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
- NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,
Maryland, manages LRO.
Learn more:
- NASA-Supported
University Research Slated for Upcoming CubeSat Missions
- What are
SmallSats and CubeSats?
- NASA Funds
CubeSat Pathfinder Mission to Unique Lunar Orbit
- NASA Awards
Contract to Launch CubeSat to Moon from Virginia
- NASA CubeSats
Play Big Role in Lunar Exploration
- Innovative
Propulsion System Gets Ready to Help Study Moon Orbit for Artemis
- CAPSTONE’s
CubeSat Prepares for Lunar Flight
- NASA’s CAPSTONE
Prepares to Enter Unique Orbit
- CAPSTONE Charts a
New Path for NASA's Moon-Orbiting Space Station
- CAPSTONE Uses
Gravity on Unusual, Efficient Route to the Moon
- The Small
Businesses Behind CAPSTONE Are Paving Our Path to the Moon
- CAPSTONE Launches to Test New Orbit for NASA’s
Artemis Moon Missions
For investigators:
Investigators interested in funding opportunities with the Small Spacecraft
Technology program please visit here.
For technical inquiries about the mission, contact NASA’s CAPSTONE Project Manager Elwood Agasid.
Source: What
is CAPSTONE? | NASA
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