A small satellite is preparing to lay the groundwork for something bigger: a full-blown lunar space station. NASA’s CAPSTONE satellite is due to be launched into orbit on Monday and will then find its way into the moon’s unique orbit. Artemis programit is trying to bring people back to the moon at the end of this decade.
KAPSTONE Launch Complex 1, based in Mahia, New Zealand, takes a walk on board the Rocket Lab’s Electronic Rocket, which will take off from a private company. Rocket Lab made headlines in May using a helicopter to catch a falling rocket booster.. The release of CAPSTONE will begin on June 27 at 6 am, one hour before the live broadcast. You can watch the action at the agency website or softwareor you can watch the live broadcast below.
About a week after the CAPSTONE mission, the probe’s journey will be presented with the help of NASA. Eyes in the solar system interactive real-time 3D data visualization.
The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experience (CAPSTONE) mission will send a microwave-sized satellite into a linear halo orbit (NRHO) around the Moon. The satellite will make its first cruise around this unique lunar orbit and test it for those scheduled. Moon GateA small space station that allows a person to be sustainable on the moon.
NRHO is where the gravitational force from the Moon and the Earth interact; this orbit would theoretically keep the spacecraft in a stable orbit around the Moon “in the sweet spot of gravity,” according to NASA. The NRHO is ideal because it will require less fuel than normal orbits and will allow the proposed lunar space station to maintain a permanent line of contact with the Earth. But before NASA builds its Gateway in this highly elliptical orbit, the space agency will use the Colorado-based Advanced Space-owned CAPSTONE to test its orbital models.
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Six days after launch, the upper stage of the Electron rocket will launch the CAPSTONE satellite during a trip to the moon. The 55-pound (25-pound) cubesat will then perform solo for the remainder of its four-month journey. Once a month, CAPSTONE will test the orbital dynamics of its orbit for about six months. The satellite will also be used to test navigation technology and one-way variable capabilities from spacecraft to spacecraft, which may reduce the need for future spacecraft to communicate with Earth’s mission controllers and wait for signals to be transmitted from other spacecraft.
NASA is bringing together pieces for the agency’s planned return to the moon. The The fourth and final wet clothes training of the Space Agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) went wellpaves the way for a possible release in late August.
More: This small satellite connected to the moon can lead to the lunar space station
