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Illustration of the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE). (Credit: Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems)
The CAPSTONE mission will see Rocket Lab extend its reach far beyond Earth orbit for the first time to deploy an in-house designed and built Photon spacecraft to the Moon.
Long Beach, Calif. (Rocket Lab PR) – Rocket Lab has reached a key milestone ahead of the company’s first launch to the Moon, with spacecraft qualification underway for the Photon spacecraft that will transport a NASA satellite into a unique lunar orbit that no other spacecraft has explored before.
NASA’s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) will be launched by Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle and Photon in Q2 2021. The CAPSTONE satellite will act as a pathfinding precursor for lunar missions, including Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost that will provide vital support for a sustainable,
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Credits: NASA
Whether upgrading air traffic control software or honing the food safety practices that keep our dinner tables safe, NASA has worked for more than six decades to ensure its innovations benefit people on Earth. One of the agencys most important benefits is the way investment in NASA pays dividends throughout the U.S. economy.
The latest edition of NASAs Spinoff publication highlights dozens of companies that have benefited from cooperation with NASA. This cooperation means investment in existing companies large and small; it eases the path for entrepreneurs to start new businesses; and it benefits the public as a whole through new jobs and cutting-edge products that improve daily life.
NASA-supported Tech aboard Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo
Washington, D.C. – Successful space and suborbital technology developments require ingenuity, understanding of mission and science needs, and testing. For many technologies matured with support from NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, the ability to undergo testing multiple times – and often on different types of commercial flight vehicles – adds the necessary rigor and refinement to advance these innovations.
Evolved versions of two NASA-supported technologies that have flown previously through Flight Opportunities will be put to the test on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo.
Virgin Galactic Makes Space for Second Time in Ten Weeks with Three on Board
[1], the ability to undergo testing multiple times – and often on different types of commercial flight vehicles
[2] – adds the necessary rigor and refinement to advance these innovations.
Evolved versions of two NASA-supported technologies that have flown previously through Flight Opportunities will be put to the test on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo.
Virgin Galactic Makes Space for Second Time in Ten Weeks with Three on Board
Taking off for the first time from New Mexico’s Spaceport America and expected to reach an altitude of more than 50 miles (80 kilometers), the rocket-powered suborbital space plane will expose the payloads to more than two minutes of microgravity, enabling researchers to assess performance and make necessary design updates based on the data collected.