The NASA spacecraft CAPSTONE, which stands for ‘Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment,’ is about to make history by flying the first particular lunar orbit.
The diminutive CubeSat, which is about the size of a microwave oven, will act as a trial run for additional crewed moon trips in the future.
Rocket Lab said on Twitter that it has postponed the debut of CAPSTONE by one day and is now aiming for June 28.
The launch will take place from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula, with live broadcast on NASA Television.
Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems developed and created the spacecraft, which will touch down on November 13 in a region near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO).
The project, which has been funded by NASA’s Small Business Technology Transfer programme, could help improve the efficiency of solar cells for space missions and use on Earth.
As the force of gravity from the moon and the earth interact in this region of space to create a fairly stable orbit, this is the first spacecraft to test the stability of the new NRHO orbit around the moon.
NASA will park its lunar-orbiting space station Gateway there as part of its Artemis mission, which plans to send two humans to the lunar South Pole in 2024–2025 and build a lunar base there.
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