Its orbit, called the proximal coronal recti orbit, is highly elongated and provides stability for long-range missions while requiring little energy to maintain – which is exactly what Gateway needs. Its orbit lies at a point that is balanced in the gravitational pull of the Moon and Earth.
The mission, called Cislunar Autonomous GPS Technology Operations and Navigation Experience, known as CAPSTONE, is scheduled to lift off from the launch pad on Monday, June 27, at 5:50 a.m. ET. The CubeSat will launch aboard the Electron Rocket Lab rocket from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.
Once CAPTONE is launched, it will reach its orbital point within three months and then spend the next six months in orbit. The spacecraft could provide more data on the power and thrust requirements for the gate.
CubeSat’s orbit will take the spacecraft within 1,000 miles (1,609.3 km) of one pole of the moon in its closest corridor and within 43,500 miles (70,006.5 km) of the other every seven days. Using this orbit would be more energy efficient for spacecraft flying in and out of the gate as it requires less thrust than a more circular orbit.
The mini spacecraft will also be used to test Earth’s communications capabilities from this orbit, which provides a clear view of Earth while providing coverage of the Moon’s south pole – where the first Artemis astronauts are expected to land in 2025.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been orbiting the Moon for 13 years, will provide a reference point for CAPSTONE. The two spacecraft will communicate directly with each other, allowing teams on Earth to measure the exact distance between each and home at the CAPTONE location.
Collaboration between the two spacecraft could test CAPSTONE’s autonomous navigation software, called CAPS, or the Cislunar autonomous positioning system. If this software works as expected, it could be used by future spacecraft without relying on tracking from Earth.
“The CAPSTONE mission is a valuable introduction not only to Gateway, but also to the Orion spacecraft and human landing system,” said Nujoud Merancy, head of NASA’s Office of Exploration Mission Planning at Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Gateway and Orion will use data from CAPSTONE to validate our model, which will be critical to future operations and mission planning.”
Small satellite for big mission
The CAPSTONE mission is a rapid, low-cost demonstration with the goal of helping lay the groundwork for future small spacecraft, said Christopher Baker, Small Spacecraft Technology Program Manager for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
Small missions that can be quickly assembled and launched at lower cost mean they can seize opportunities that larger, more expensive missions cannot.
“Often in flight testing, you learn from failure, if not more, than you learn from success. We can take more risks, knowing there is potential for failure, but we can accept that failure to move on to advanced capabilities.” “In this case, failure is a choice.”
Lessons from smaller CubeSat missions could benefit larger missions in the future — and CubeSat has begun to identify the more challenging objectives of low-Earth orbit.
During InSight’s entry, landing, and landing, the MarCO satellite receives and is transported from the probe to inform NASA that InSight is safe on the surface of the Red Planet. They were named EVE and WALL-E for the robot from the 2008 Pixar film.
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The fact that the tiny satellite managed to reach Mars, and fly behind InSight through space, excited engineers. The Cube satellites continued to fly past Mars after Insight landed, but ceased to exist at the end of the year. But MarCO is an excellent test of how CubeSats can take on bigger missions.
The small but powerful spacecraft will play a supporting role again in September, when the DART mission, or Dual Asteroid Diversion Test, will accidentally collide with Demorphos while orbiting the near-Earth asteroid Didymos to alter the asteroid’s motion in space.
More affordable tasks
The CAPSTONE mission builds on NASA’s partnerships with commercial companies such as Rocket Lab, Stellar Exploration, Terran Orbital Corporation, and Advanced Space. The Moon Mission was built using an innovative research contract for small businesses at a fixed price – in less than three years and less than $30 million.
Big missions can cost billions of dollars. The Persevering rover, currently exploring Mars, has a cost of more than $2 billion and the Artemis I mission is $4.1 billion, according to a review by NASA’s Office of the Inspector General.
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This type of contract could increase the chances of small, affordable missions to the Moon and other destinations while creating a framework for commercial support for future lunar operations, Baker said.
Baker hopes that small spacecraft missions will increase the speed of space exploration and scientific discovery – and CAPSTONE and other CubeSats are just the beginning.
Correction: Previous versions of this story included an incorrect release date.
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