Watch the launch from New Zealand of CAPSTONE, a new pathfinder CubeSat that will explore a unique orbit around the Moon!
The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, or CAPSTONE, will be the first spacecraft to fly a near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the Moon, where the pull of gravity from Earth and the Moon interact to allow for a nearly-stable orbit. CAPSTONE’s test of this orbit will lead the way for our future Artemis lunar outpost called Gateway. CAPSTONE is targeted to launch at 09:55 UTC Tuesday, June 28 on Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.