LAUNCH TIME | June 28, 2022 - 11:55 |
LAUNCH PROVIDER | Rocket Lab |
CUSTOMER | NASA |
ROCKET | Electron |
LAUNCH SITE | Launch Complex-1B, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand |
PAYLOAD MASS | 25 Kg (Just the satellite) |
DESTINATION | Nearly Straight Halo (NRHO) orbit around the Moon |
LANDING SITE | The first stage will crash into the Pacific Ocean |
WEATHER | - |
Rocket Lab will launch the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) for NASA. The mission consists of a small satellite that will travel to the Moon and enter a nearly straight Halo orbit (NRHO). CAPSTONE will be the first object to enter this orbit, destined for the Gatewey lunar station.
CAPSTONE
CAPSTONE will be the first mission of the Artemis program, NASA's program that includes the return of man to the moon.
In its six-month mission, the spacecraft will confirm the true kinetics of the Halo orbit and test a brand new transmission technology. All the discoveries of this mission will be introduced directly into the development of the Lunar Space Station Gateway.
The Electron rocket
Rocket Lab's Electron is a small launch vehicle designed to put small satellites into orbit,it consists of two stages with optional third stages.
The rocket is about 18.5 meters high and only 1.2 meters in diameter. The vehicle structures are made of advanced carbon fiber composites. The payload lifting capacity of Electron to LEO is 300kg.
The First Stage Electron's first stage is powered by 9 Rutherford engine thatprovides 24 kN of thrust.
The Second Stage The second stage is powered by one Vacuum Rutherford engine that provides 25,8 kN of thrust.
Lunar Photon The upper stage Photon is capable of reaching destinations such as the Moon, Mars or Venus. To reduce mass as much as possible use Rocket Lab's thin-walled carbon composite tanks.
Lunar Photon has a HyperCurie motor, powered by an electric pump, which can use solar panels to charge the batteries between ignitions.
The primary role of Lunar Photon is to bring CAPSTONE from Earth's orbit to lunar orbit through a translunar injection. The use of low energy transfer will be mainly conducted by Lunar Photon which will conduct the ignitions to the perigee, fine-tuning and slightly raising the orbit until the final engine is switched on for translunar injection.
The live stream will start at T-45 minutes.
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