After glitch on Moon journey, NASA's CAPSTONE stable; mission teams continue recovery work

The CAPSTONE spacecraft launched in June this year seems to still be in trouble after a series of technical glitches that hit it. In a recent update, NASA said that the mission teams are working towards recovery of the spacecraft orientation control after it recently went tumbling in outer space. 

“This work includes collecting information from the spacecraft, running simulations, and refining recovery plans,” NASA’s statement read. Short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning Systems Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, CAPSTONE, which weighs around 25 kg, has been developed by Advanced Space using funds from NASA. It was launched on June 28 on Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from New Zealand and it’s currently on its way to test the Non-rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) around the Moon. 

“CAPSTONE is power positive– meaning it is generating more power from its solar panels than the spacecraft systems are using– and remains in a stable condition on track to the Moon,” NASA further said about the satellite’s condition. 

What is the NRHO?

The NRHO is an elongated path around the Moon where the CAPSTONE spacecraft would come as close as 1,609 km from one lunar pole and go as far as 70,000 km from the other pole. The spacecraft will reach its destination on November 13 and will remain in this orbit for six months to test its feasibility in terms of fuel efficiency.

According to NASA, the NRHO offers stability to a spacecraft because of the interacting gravitational forces of the Earth and the Moon. Scientists want to test how stable is the orbit as NASA has plans to install a space station around the Moon in the NRHO. “CAPSTONE will validate the power and propulsion requirements for maintaining its orbit as predicted by NASA’s models, reducing logistical uncertainties,” the agency says. “It will also demonstrate the reliability of innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solutions as well as communication capabilities with Earth.”

Currently, the teams are working to fix the anomalies which are popping up just a few hours after the spacecraft left Earth. Recently, the engineers made an announcement saying that the spacecraft is now producing enough energy to power itself and its heating propulsion system above operational temperature.

Image: NASA