On June 26, NASA announced that it will be doing some final systems checks on the launch of a capsule. The capsule, named CAPSTONE, will be launched into moon orbit as an essential part of the goal of getting astronauts back on the moon.
The Capstone capsule is as big as a microwave oven, and will not hold any astronauts onboard. Capstone is the first piece of a capsule that will help other pieces holding the astronauts. The new name for the mission is Artemis. (In Greek mythology, Artemis was the sister of Apollo.) Apollo-14 successfully carried the first U.S. astronauts to the moon.
What is interesting about this mission is that NASA is NOT in control. Firstly, the Capstone launch will happen in New Zealand, not in Florida. Secondly, NASA did not build or even design the capsule, and will not operate it, either. What NASA has done instead is to provide important information and to give advice. For example, NASA has suggested that “the best place to put this outpost would be in what is known as a near-rectilinear halo orbit.”
Capstone will last around six months and NASA and others hope that it will last up to a year. As on other NASA missions, the capsule will be guided by NASA’s many satellite dishes and antennas. The collaboration between Advanced Space and NASA is similar to the one between SpaceX and NASA.
The contractual partnership between the two companies was a very good idea. The cost of this operation—way cheaper than the first moon landing—is about $30 million.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/26/science/nasa-capstone-moon-launch.html#:~:text=the%20main%20story-,NASA’s%20Return%20to%20the%20Moon%20Starts%20With%20Launching%20a%2055,spacecraft%20about%20to%20lift%20off.
The Capstone capsule is as big as a microwave oven, and will not hold any astronauts onboard. Capstone is the first piece of a capsule that will help other pieces holding the astronauts. The new name for the mission is Artemis. (In Greek mythology, Artemis was the sister of Apollo.) Apollo-14 successfully carried the first U.S. astronauts to the moon.
What is interesting about this mission is that NASA is NOT in control. Firstly, the Capstone launch will happen in New Zealand, not in Florida. Secondly, NASA did not build or even design the capsule, and will not operate it, either. What NASA has done instead is to provide important information and to give advice. For example, NASA has suggested that “the best place to put this outpost would be in what is known as a near-rectilinear halo orbit.”
Capstone will last around six months and NASA and others hope that it will last up to a year. As on other NASA missions, the capsule will be guided by NASA’s many satellite dishes and antennas. The collaboration between Advanced Space and NASA is similar to the one between SpaceX and NASA.
The contractual partnership between the two companies was a very good idea. The cost of this operation—way cheaper than the first moon landing—is about $30 million.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/26/science/nasa-capstone-moon-launch.html#:~:text=the%20main%20story-,NASA’s%20Return%20to%20the%20Moon%20Starts%20With%20Launching%20a%2055,spacecraft%20about%20to%20lift%20off.
