A CubeSat is Flying to the Moon to Make Sure Lunar Gateway's Orbit is Actually Stable universetoday storybywill
Animation of the CAPSTONE mission in orbit of the Moon. Credits: NASA/Daniel Rutter
Elwood Agasid, a deputy program manager of Small Spacecraft Technology at NASA’s Ames Research Center, explained in a NASA“CAPSTONE will be precisely controlled and maintained and will benefit tremendously from the nearly-stable physics of its near rectilinear halo orbit. 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.
These tests will validate the power and propulsion requirements for maintaining its orbit as predicted by NASA’s models, reducing logistical uncertainties. During its many orbits, the CAPSTONE will demonstrate the reliability of an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation system. This system will measure the position of the CAPSTONE CubeSat relative to NASA’sIn this illustration, NASA’s Orion spacecraft approaches the Gateway in lunar orbit.
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