NASA’s CAPSTONE satellite is on its way to orbit the Moon, following a software problem that caused it to lose contact with Earth this week. Launched on June 28, NASA announced that it had communications problems with the satellite on July 5. Communications were restored on July 6, and now the satellite has made its first orientation maneuver.
The satellite is testing an unusual orbit around the Moon that could be used for the planned Gateway space station. Called an almost rectilinear halo orbit, this curved orbit brings the satellite closer to the Moon at times, while it is farther away than others. Its advantage is that it requires very little energy to keep an object in orbit, making it ideal for a space station. CAPSTONE’s job is to test whether this orbit is a good potential orbit for the future station.
Illustration of the Experiment of Operations and Technological Navigation of the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System (CAPSTONE). Tyvak nano-satellite systems
To fit into this orbit, the satellite must perform a series of maneuvers in which it fires thrusters to adjust its trajectory. The first of these maneuvers was Thursday morning.
“NASA’s CAPSTONE successfully completed its first trajectory correction maneuver, which began at 11:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday,” NASA wrote in an update. “This is the first in a series of propellant burns over the next few months to more accurately orient CAPSTONE’s transfer orbit to the Moon. The maneuver lasted just over 11 minutes and changed the speed of the spacecraft at about 45 miles per hour (about 20 meters per second). CAPSTONE ‘s next trajectory correction maneuver is scheduled for Saturday, July 9. “
The transfer that follows the satellite is different from the usual Hohmann transfer, in which an object spirals in its orbit around the Earth until it ends in orbit around the Moon. Instead, CAPSTONE uses a ballistic transfer that follows the gravitational contours of space affected by the Earth, the moon, and the sun. This method uses very little fuel, but takes longer, so CAPSTONE will take several months to reach the moon.
CAPSTONE is expected to reach its almost rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon on November 13 this year.
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