CAPSTONE Spacecraft Successfully Completes Maneuver– On Track for Moon Orbit

By NASA November 1, 2022 The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, or CAPSTONE, is a CubeSat that will fly a special orbit around the Moon planned for NASA’s future Artemis lunar station Gateway. Its six-month objective will assist introduce a brand-new age of deep area expedition. Credit: NASA Ames Research Center On Thursday, October 27, CAPSTONE effectively finished a trajectory correction maneuver, teeing up the spacecraft’s arrival to lunar orbit on November13 CAPSTONE is no longer in safe mode following a problem in early September that triggered the spacecraft to spin. A valve-related concern in among the spacecraft’s 8 thrusters was recognized by the group as the most likely reason for the issue. The objective group will develop future maneuvers to consider the impacted valve. This consists of the 2 staying trajectory correction maneuvers arranged prior to CAPSTONE’s arrival to orbit at the Moon. CAPSTONE exposed in lunar Sunrise: CAPSTONE will fly in cislunar area– the orbital area near and around the Moon. The objective will show an ingenious spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation service at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Credit: Illustration by NASA/Daniel Rutter Following its launch on June 28, CAPSTONE orbited Earth connected to Rocket Lab’s Photon upper phase, which steered it into position for its journey to the Moon. CAPSTONE’s effective implementation and start of commissioning happened on July 4. On July 7, NASA’s CAPSTONE effectively finished its very first trajectory correction maneuver. CAPSTONE– brief for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment– is owned by Advanced Space on behalf of NASA. The spacecraft was developed and constructed by Terran Orbital. Operations are carried out collectively by groups at Advanced Space and Terran Orbital.
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