CAPSTONE Charts a New Path for NASA’s Moon-Orbiting Space Station
NASA Mission Update
WESTMINSTER, Colo. — It will have equilibrium. Poise. Balance. This pathfinding CubeSat will practically be able to kick back and rest in a gravitational sweet spot in space – where the pull of gravity from Earth and the Moon interact to allow for a nearly-stable orbit – allowing physics to do most of the work of keeping it in orbit around the Moon.
Sounds like a heavenly work-life balance, right? Funnily enough – the orbit is formally known in orbital mechanics as a “near rectilinear halo orbit” (NRHO). Which means, if you were able to trace the shape of the orbit, it would look like an elongated oval with sides so long they’re nearly straight.
The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) CubeSat owned and operated by Advanced Space in Westminster, Colorado, will be the first spacecraft to test this orbit. Researchers want to show the orbit requires less fuel and allows constant direct communications contact with Earth as the spacecraft passes by the Moon.
And NASA has big plans for this unique type of orbit. Engineers expect it will allow them to park bigger spacecraft – including the lunar-orbiting space station Gateway – in orbit around the Moon for about 15 years.
About six days after launch, CAPSTONE will deploy from the Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft bus and begin its four-month transfer to its NRHO, firing its thrusters to power its journey. After a couple of additional “clean-up” maneuvers, and a critical maneuver that will insert the spacecraft into the NRHO, the spacecraft will occasionally and sparingly fire its thrusters to stay on course, allowing NASA to understand the orbit dynamics for at least six months.
“CAPSTONE will be precisely controlled and maintained and will benefit tremendously from the nearly-stable physics of its near rectilinear halo orbit,” said Elwood Agasid, deputy program manager of Small Spacecraft Technology at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. “The burns will be timed to give the spacecraft an extra boost as it naturally builds momentum – this requires a lot less fuel than a more circular orbit would require.”
If viewed from Earth, CAPSTONE’s orbit would repeatedly trace a consistent oval around the Moon as the spacecraft moves from the lunar North Pole to the lunar South Pole. It will take nearly a week to complete a full lunar orbit. While it’s over the South Pole, the spacecraft will be traveling at its slowest and farthest away from the lunar surface – approximately 47,000 miles (76,000 kilometers) above the Moon. Then, as it builds momentum, the spacecraft will travel at its fastest and closest height above the Moon and cross over the North Pole, at only approximately 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers) high.
“This orbit has an added bonus of allowing Gateway to have optimal communications with future Artemis missions operating on the lunar surface as well as back to Earth,” said Agasid. “This could unlock new opportunities for future lunar science and exploration efforts.”
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CAPSTONE is commercially owned and operated by Advanced Space in Westminster, Colorado. It represents an innovative collaboration between NASA and industry to provide rapid results and feedback to inform future exploration and science missions.
NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) funds the demonstration mission. The program is based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. The development of CAPSTONE’s navigation technology is supported by NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program, also within STMD. The Artemis Campaign Development Division within NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate funds the launch and supports mission operations. The Launch Services Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida manages the launch.
25 responses to “CAPSTONE Charts a New Path for NASA’s Moon-Orbiting Space Station”
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What is needed are double-hulled “Fat Workshop” upper stages placed in lunar orbit by SHLVs. Between the outer and inner hull will be a16 foot envelope that will be filled with lunar water brought up by robot landers. Once these workshops are filled with water then astronauts can be sent as they will have a radiation sanctuary safe only from cosmic radiation but the worst possible solar event. In addition to radiation protection the water can be used as a grow medium for a closed loop life support system. Once these pipelines of workshops and robot landers are established then the next step will be a fleet of Lunar Cyclers providing shielded transportation between the Earth and the Moon.
By connecting two such crew compartments together with a tether system a “Bola” configuration Near Sea Level Radiation One Gravity environment (NSLR1G) will allow astronauts full careers in space without quickly accruing career-ending dosing and debilitation. Since the stations will provide their own life support and most of their own food and personnel need only be transported from Earth or the Moon a few hours to intercept Lunar Cyclers, most of the heavy lift missions can be focused on creating more infrastructure.
The steps after this are obvious in that Space Stations in GEO and other locations such as NRHO will create a cislunar infrastructure supporting a permanent human presence Beyond Earth Orbit (BEO) and finally….on the Moon.
Bring it on!
So I unblocked all the spacex fanboys over at spacex news (they keep trolling me anyway so what’s the point?) and now they can all see my comments and are going apesh%t. They keep flagging my comments and disappearing them and I keep reposting them. They have turned that forum into a cesspool. They will find their way here and start dogpiling me, it is what they do, and hopefully Doug will not allow it. Hopefully banning me will not be his way of not allowing it.
They apparently cannot flag and disappear my comments or post their giant disgusting troll picture insults here either. Thanks Doug.
Tough crowd!
You are unbalanced. Seek professional help before you end up harming yourself or others.
Like I said, it is what they do. You are the one that replied to me with a picture of a handgun on a selfie stick over on the spacex news last week- inferring I should commit suicide?
Classic projection and very common with Trumpists and Musk worshipers.
That was in context of the discussion, and before I realized that you were just freekin’ insane.
You are a liar. LIke most spacex fanboys, you lie like the rest of us breathe.
All I do is post comments critical of NewSpace ideology…that’s it.
It is the Ayn-Rand-in-Space cult that is completely “freekin’ insane.”
Like I said, classic projection.
And thank you for allowing me to expose what toxic creeps the spacex legion of cyberthugs are.
If you only posted stuff about SLS vs reusable rockets you wouldn’t come across like some absolutely bat-shit crazy fanatic with a persecution complex. It’s a classic ‘me against the world’ POV amped up to 11 on a scale of 1 to 10. I was deadly serious when I suggested that you seek help. I’ve seen people deteriorate mentally before (I’ve been around a LOT longer than you have, young man) and if you catch it early it is a survivable condition.
You keep harassing me with personal attacks and I am only replying.
Anybody can see what the spacex fanboys are doing. It’s disgusting. Your hypocrite finger waving is a sick joke. A classic troll with all the condescending arrogant malicious boxes checked- except you left out that always favorite spacex fanboy disgusting insult- “take your meds.”
to SLSFanboy and Rabbit “Gentleman there is no fighting in the war room”
sorry I am in a really good mood today. I took one of the little planes on dawn patrol over the sound. Yesterday I took the Big Boeing flying over the sound as the Chester left
May the force be with you
He came here to call me crazy….don’t tell me to let him use me as a punching bag Robert.
I understand. no one gets more “yawn” over the SpaceX groupies. Really it was just some humor. but I do feel your pain
Thanks.
Best flight I had was Hat Creek Rim many years ago. It is a volcano crater in Norcal at 8000 asl. The obsidian soaks up the sun all day and as soon as it starts to dip below the horizon the cooler air sucks the hot up out of the crater in a huge column of super-smooth and very powerful lift. Paraglider and Hang glider pilots call this a “glass-off.” I launched off the rim and went straight up like an express elevator with the strings vibrating. But unlike entering or exiting a thermal, no turbulence. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Within a minute or so the other people at launch were like little ants. The sun set and the lift slowly faded. After about 30 minutes I landed in the crater. The only problem was I had never landed a paraglider at that high an altitude and I came in really hot, buried the brakes, and it still would not slow down. Luckily I did not get any obsidian cuts.
oh I bet that is both fun and just an amazing “spiritual” experience. I have seen Hat Creek Rim many times flying in Norcal but never closer then a few miles from it (ie up high) . my oldest daughter the F35 driver loves paragliding. I think it would be a blast but well she has two younger sisters 🙂 who depend on me fly safe.
It is a parachute that’s already open…what can go wrong?
Of course a lot can go wrong and everyone has a few close calls that remind them it is not about forgiveness. Many quit after their first scare. Mine was a collapse in a rotor in conditions I should not have launched in. I looked up at that bag of dirty laundry and screamed like a little girl as I fell through the air. But it popped back open. Then collapsed again. Then popped back open. Then I was out of the rotor. I did not have to throw my reserve and was more careful ever after.
But, having rode a crotch rocket around SF for a many years I can tell you that compared to motorcycles, paragliding is NOT dangerous.
I finally quite riding and I tell every young person that asks me about it that they should try paragliding or scuba diving or kite-surfing or….anything but motorcycles, because they are simply not worth your life. One of the reasons I know se jones is not the genius he makes himself out to be. Of course a sociopath would put himself on a motorcycle as an avatar. It goes with the personality profile.
my oldest is into motorcycles like her mom. she has my grandmothers and her moms big (really big) bikes…and loves them I never could find Marla’s love for that and so she and her sister would ride …now Kat and her boyfriend ride . She use to ride all around Europe when she was in Bosnia…now the bikes are at the place here on Whidbey . I dont know when Kat gets back but her boyfriend starts them up etc
I will probably get back into off airport flying. our pipeline patrol business is growing and we now have a “hub” here in Seattle (well Tacoma) …note I have nothing to do with that, its totally my wifes…but they are gaining experience with Cessna 336’s and I have thought about that for a Bush plane…of course I could use the Bamboo bomber but I am torn on that because while it flies …there are not many of them left and I am kind of thinking I need to preserve it. Mostly it sits in the museum at Galveston…in controlled storage
I am sounding out the family on flying “Alaska” ….I work out about five days of PTO a month…just due to overtime and weekend flying …so it would be easy every month to pop up there on Alaska and go off airport…
a 336 would be perfect for that. the patrol company has a list of mods that correct almost all of the issues the 336 had. the gear is fixed but thats ok for bush flying. put big tires on it.
my last year has been concentrating on losing mass and getting back into shape. the other day I hada a flight physical that showed me at 192. I would like to geet back to 180 but the flight surgeon wasnt sure that was a good idea..he suggested bulking muscle and going to 210 🙂
I spent 7 years in Kodiak Alaska flying on H-60J’s. Flew around Alaska quite a bit, have a lot of stories. You know how that is. We went out looking for a lot of small airplanes that went missing and never found a trace of them. One of my friends was also killed when the bush plane he was coming back from a fishing trip in hit a mountain trying to make it through a pass under the weather. I left in 1999 and I hope the navaids are better now for you Robert. Alaska was great in my 30’s but in my 60’s likely too cold. Even SE which does not get that cold because of the ocean- kind of an extreme Seattle. But if you like hunting and fishing, you will quit doing it when you come back from Alaska to the lower 48 because nothing compares. Nothing. I am not a fisherman but I did murder so many deer, ptarmigan, and snow bunnies that I finally just got bored with it…..and started paragliding. That is another story.
My go-to workout is swimming laps with one of those full face snorkel masks. I get a much better work out because you have plenty of air. I started with one of those centerline snorkels competitive swimmers train with but tried a full face and knew I was on to something good. You should try that- your shoulders and chest will immediately get big. Best of all it is hard to injure yourself and you cannot get overheated.
When you make the same post 9 times in a row, that’s spam. If the moderators delete it for being spam, that has nothing to do with Ayn Rand conspiracies.
That you had to come here and continue to harass me is proof of what is going on. I posted those and other comments so many times because your gang of thugs keep flagging them. You are one of the most malicious and vicious trolls on spacex news and have harassed me for years. Transparent.
That I had to come here? I’ve been commenting on Parabolic Arc for years. You’re the new arrival here spreading your discontent with SpaceNews.
I don’t think this is a new arrival, but rather a serial offender that changes screen names after each time getting banned. The content is the giveaway with the same disconnected ravings of anti newspace and Musk. The insistence on a single solution with all others being horrible is a common thing as well. Long since lost track of the various screen names, though Gary Church is the first one I noticed.
Net result is to drive people towards SpaceX and other newspace companies rather than get identified with the raving.
Hahahah…..wow. Musk worshiper delusions are amazing. Got news for you; very few people like Elon Musk and his freakish cult worshippers quickly drive anybody with any sense in the opposite direction. They imagine they are this vast legion when they are just a small percentage of unpleasant characters yelling inside the typical right-wing echo chamber. Funny how you are doing exactly what I said you would do. You can’t flag my comments here and it is driving you crazy that I am blaspheming. If the past is any guide there will be a couple dozen of you along in the next couple days to add to the poison. Nothing to do with space- all about me. And that gives your pernicious game away. And that name…Gary Church. It is like John Galt.
Who is Gary Church? My username is SLSFanboy and when the Musk sycophants blow their dog whistle from the mountain top it is beautiful crystal clear exposure of what absolutely toxic creeps they are.
The worst garbage on the internet; malicious lying trolls. A true Cult.
Musk and Trump are morphing into a single autocratic idea of evil and the worst danger to democracy since the civil war. But he is getting increasingly erratic and will likely soon self-destruct like most bizarre celebs do. Best thing that could possibly happen.
Your post had nothing to do with space..it was about me.
Play your sociopathic gaslighting word game spacex fanboy. It is what you do. You and at least a couple dozen malicious personality types have found a home in the spacex fan club and comment on this and a couple other forums. A couple dozen more far-right borderline cases are just bullies that enjoy dogpiling anything. The most toxic creeps on the internet.
it says launch 2021