Page 10 - Australian Defence Magazine Sep 2021

10 NEWS REVIEW INDUSTRY UPDATE
SEPTEMBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
ROCKET LAB TO LAUNCH NASA-FUNDED COMMERCIAL MOON MISSION FROM NZ
ROCKET Lab has announced it will launch the CAPSTONE mission to the Moon from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand from Q4 2021. It will be Rocket Lab’s first launch to the Moon.
CAPSTONE (the Cislunar Autono- mous Positioning System Technology Op- erations and Navigation Experiment) aids NASA’s Artemis program, which includes landing the first woman and the first per- son of colour on the Moon and establish- ing a long-term presence there.
Launching on an Electron launch vehi- cle and deploying from Rocket Lab’s Pho- ton spacecraft platform, CAPSTONE is a 25 kilogram satellite created by Advanced Space that will serve as the first space- craft to test a unique, elliptical lunar orbit.
As a precursor for Gateway and other Artemis elements, an international and commercial Moon-orbiting outpost that is part of NASA’s Artemis program, CAP- STONE is designed to help reduce risk for future spacecraft by validating innovative navigation technologies and verifying the dynamics of this halo-shaped orbit.
The mission is the first time Rocket Lab will use its Photon spacecraft platform as a trans-lunar injection stage to place a satellite on a trajectory that will take it beyond Earth orbit to the Moon. After lift- ing off on Electron to an initial elliptical low Earth orbit, Photon will separate and use its 3D printed HyperCurie engine to provide in-space propulsion to allow CAP- STONE to break free of Earth’s gravity and set a course for the Moon.
After deploying the CAPSTONE satel- lite, Photon will continue on its own tra- jectory to conduct a lunar fly-by, while CAPSTONE will use its own propulsion system to enter a cislunar orbit.
Following a three-to-four-month trip to the Moon, the CAPSTONE CubeSat will enter a near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO), which is a highly elliptical orbit over the Moon’s poles. During its six-month pri- mary mission in orbit around the Moon, CAPSTONE will validate the propulsion requirements for maintaining this type of orbit as predicted by models, reducing lo- gistical uncertainties for future missions.
ABOVE: CAPSTONE is designed to help reduce risk for future spacecraft.
It will also test the accuracy of innova- tive spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solutions as well as demonstrate capabili- ties for commercial support of future lu- nar missions.
Originally slated for lift-off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 2 in Virginia, the CAPSTONE mission will now take place from Launch Complex 1 to support a Q4 launch window.
“Flexible isn’t a word usually used to describe lunar missions but operating two launch complexes gives us the freedom to select a site that best meets mission require- ments and schedule,” Rocket Lab Chief Executive Officer, Peter Beck, said. “Our team is immensely proud to be launching one of the first pathfinding missions to sup- port NASA’s goal of delivering a sustainable and robust presence on the Moon.”
ROCKET LAB