Rocket Lab’s CAPSTONE moon mission launch is set to happen from New Zealand in late 2021. Rocket labs is a private spaceflight firm. The firm has its original launch complex in New Zealand. The mission was originally set to launch from NASA’s Wallops facility in Virginia.
The CAPSTONE (Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment) cubesat is to serve as a vanguard for NASA’s Artemis program. The various purposes that will be fulfilled by CAPSTONE are verifications of the propulsion needs for a highly elliptical lunar orbit, testing of spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation systems and to explore the potential for private support in future missions. If this mission is successful then it will help NASA’s future Gateway spacecraft safely approach and orbit the Moon.
The mission will also serve as a proof of technical capability of Rocket Lab. The Electron rocket will be similar to this mission but this will be the first time the company uses its Photon platform to launch a satellite to a lunar trajectory.
CAPSTONE mission is undertaken by the company after Rocket Lab suffered two severe rocket failures. The mission has to be successful for the company to restore its trust in carrying out ambitious projects.
