NASA Lost Contact With Capstone Satellite On Its Way To The Moon
Lost contact with the 25-kilogram Capstone microsatellite shortly after it separated from the Photon upper stage on July 4 and began its independent journey to the moon.
NASA spokeswoman Sarah Fraser said the spacecraft team is currently working to understand the cause and restore contact. The team has data on the spacecraft’s trajectory.
Fraser also noted that the satellite has enough fuel to delay the initial trajectory correction maneuver after separation by several days.
Recall that the launch of the Capstone spacecraft took place on June 28 from the cosmodrome on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand using the Electron launch vehicle of the American company Rocket Lab. Capstone should help calculate the orbit for the future lunar station Gateway.
As previously reported by the press service of the US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it is planned that Capstone will enter its final almost rectilinear halo orbit on November 13, 2022. Now those plans are in jeopardy.
