This was the first in a series of thruster burns over the next couple of months to more precisely target CAPSTONEs transfer orbit to the Moon. The maneuver lasted just over 11 minutes and altered the spacecrafts speed by about 45 miles per hour (about 20 meters per second). CAPSTONEs next trajectory correction maneuver is targeted for Saturday, July 9.
The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, or CAPSTONE, is a CubeSat that will fly an unique orbit around the Moon intended for NASAs future Artemis lunar station Gateway. Its six-month mission will assist launch a brand-new period of deep space exploration. Credit: NASA Ames Research Center
After losing interactions with CAPSTONE on July 4, the first trajectory correction maneuver, which was initially arranged for the early morning of July 5th, needed to be been postponed. Now, after interactions were brought back on July 6, NASAs CAPSTONE effectively completed its first trajectory correction maneuver, which started at 11:30 a.m. EDT (8:30 a.m. PDT) Thursday, July 7.
CAPSTONE is now about 289,000 miles (465,000 km) from Earth, beyond the orbit of the Moon. CAPSTONE will loop back around and show up to its lunar orbit– called a near rectilinear halo orbit, or NRHO– November 13. CAPSTONE will fly in the NRHO for a minimum of six months to study the characteristics of the orbit, which is the very same one intended for Gateway, a lunar area station for science and human exploration under Artemis.
Two innovation presentations on CAPSTONE might allow future spacecraft to navigate near the Moon without as much tracking required from Earth.
Trajectory Correction Maneuver 1. Credit: Advanced Space
Advanced Space offered more information on the maneuver:
This is the first maneuver carried out by the CAPSTONE spacecraft utilizing its on-board propulsion system. Prior to this maneuver the propulsion system was commissioned and demonstrated during preliminary de-tumble after spacecraft release on July 4th and throughout prior momentum desaturation maneuvers on July 6th and previously today on July 7th.
The maneuver itself was developed to be around 20 m/s and initial radiometric-based restoration recommends it accomplished around 19.85 m/s which represents an error of approximately 0.75 % which is well within forecasts and expectations. These information will be more fine-tuned as more information is gathered
The maneuver was developed by the Advanced Space flight characteristics team based upon navigation information gathered by the Deep Space Network and processed by the Advanced Space flight dynamics team.
The burn was commanded, and post-burn telemetry processed by operators at the Terran Orbital Mission Operations Center
Sometimes of maneuver execution, the spacecraft was around 465,000 km (289,000 miles) from the Earth (~ 13 times further than the GEO belt and ~ 81,000 km (~ 50,000 miles) even more than the Moon).
Prior to this maneuver the spacecraft was on a trajectory that would take it roughly 1.2 million km (750,000 miles) from Earth, after this maneuver the spacecraft is now targeting a trajectory that will take it around 1.4 million km (870,000 miles) from Earth (~ 39 times GEO, or 3.6 time the range of the Moon).
The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, or CAPSTONE, is a CubeSat that will fly a special orbit around the Moon planned for NASAs future Artemis lunar station Gateway. The maneuver lasted simply over 11 minutes and altered the spacecrafts speed by about 45 miles per hour (about 20 meters per second). CAPSTONEs next trajectory correction maneuver is targeted for Saturday, July 9.
CAPSTONE will fly in the NRHO for at least six months to study the characteristics of the orbit, which is the very same one planned for Gateway, a lunar area station for science and human expedition under Artemis.
