Anthony J. Cesaroni
President/CEO
Cesaroni Technology/Cesaroni Aerospace
<http://www.cesaronitech.com/> http://www.cesaronitech.com/
(941) 360-3100 x101 Sarasota
(905) 887-2370 x222 Toronto
From: Hqnews <hqnews-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of NASA News
Releases
Sent: Friday, September 13, 2019 11:51 AM
To: hqnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [NASA HQ News] NASA Funds CubeSat Pathfinder Mission to Unique Lunar
Orbit
September 13, 2019
RELEASE 19-073
NASA Funds CubeSat Pathfinder Mission to Unique Lunar Orbit
NASA has awarded a $13.7 million contract to Advanced Space of Boulder,
Colorado, to develop and operate a CubeSat mission to the same lunar orbit
targeted for <https://www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars/lunar-gateway> Gateway
– an orbiting outpost astronauts will visit before descending to the surface of
the Moon in a landing system as part of NASA’s
<https://www.nasa.gov/what-is-artemis> Artemis program.
The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation
Experiment (CAPSTONE) is expected to be the first spacecraft to operate in a
near rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon. In this unique orbit, the CubeSat
will rotate together with the Moon as it orbits Earth and will pass as close as
1,000 miles and as far as 43,500 miles from the lunar surface.
<https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/capstone-orbit-large.gif>
Highly elliptical, a near rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon takes
advantage of a precise balance point in the gravities of Earth and the Moon and
creates a stability that is ideal for long-term missions like Gateway
Credits: Advanced Space
The pathfinder mission represents a rapid lunar flight demonstration and could
launch as early as December 2020. CAPSTONE will demonstrate how to enter into
and operate in this orbit as well as test a new navigation capability. This
information will help reduce logistical uncertainty for Gateway, as NASA and
international partners work to ensure astronauts have safe access to the Moon’s
surface. It will also provide a platform for science and technology
demonstrations.
“This is an exciting opportunity for NASA to aggressively push forward towards
the Moon in partnership with several American small businesses as a vanguard to
Artemis and sustained human presence beyond low-Earth orbit,” said Jim Reuter,
associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. “This
mission is highly ambitious in both cost and schedule – and taking that
deliberate risk is part of the objective of this mission – alongside the rapid
technological advancement in cislunar navigation and the opportunity to verify
orbital trajectory assumptions and retire unknowns for future missions.”
The <https://www.nasa.gov/content/what-are-smallsats-and-cubesats> 12-unit
CubeSat is about the size of a small microwave oven. Onboard is a
communications system capable of determining how far CAPSTONE is from NASA’s
<https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html> Lunar Reconnaissance
Orbiter and how fast the distance between the two spacecraft is changing. The
inter-spacecraft information will be used to demonstrate software for
autonomous navigation, allowing future missions to determine their location
without having to rely exclusively on tracking from Earth.
<https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/capstone-2.png>
Illustration of the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology
Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE).
Credits: Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems
CAPSTONE will provide NASA and its partners with important insights to support
exploration of the Moon and Mars, including:
* Demonstration of spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation services
* Verification of near rectilinear halo orbit characteristics for future
spacecraft
* Experience entering this orbit with a highly efficient lunar transfer
* Experience with rideshare or small dedicated launches to the Moon
* Commercial experience providing mission planning and operations
support services for CubeSats beyond Earth
* Rapid commercial delivery of a CubeSat mission beyond Earth orbit
“CAPSTONE offers a lot in a small package,” said Advanced Space CEO Bradley
Cheetham. “Not only will it serve as a pathfinder for Artemis, but it will also
demonstrate key exploration-enabling commercial capabilities. Our team will be
pioneering state-of-the-art tools for mission planning and operations to enable
growth in the number of future missions to the Moon, Mars, and throughout the
solar system.”
A number of launch options are possible for the mission, including being the
primary payload on a small spacecraft launch vehicle. After launch, CAPSTONE
will take approximately three months to enter its target orbit and begin a
six-month primary demonstration phase to understand operations in this unique
regime.
The award to Advanced Space is through a Phase III Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) contract, a follow-on to earlier SBIR awards that developed
CAPSTONE’s autonomous positioning and navigation system experiment.
The CAPSTONE team includes Advanced Space and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems,
Inc. of Irvine, California. The project is managed by NASA’s Small Spacecraft
Technology (SST) program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission
Directorate. Based at NASA's Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon
Valley, SST expands U.S. capability to execute unique missions through rapid
development and demonstration of capabilities for small spacecraft applicable
to exploration, science and the commercial space sector. Advanced Exploration
Systems (AES) within NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission
Directorate will fund the launch and support mission operations. AES engages in
activities focused on advanced design, development, and demonstration of
exploration capabilities to reduce risk, lower life cycle cost and validate
operational concepts for future human missions.
NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration program includes sending a suite of new
<http://www.nasa.gov/clps> science instruments and technology demonstrations to
study the Moon, landing the first woman and next man on the lunar surface by
2024, and establishing a sustained presence by 2028. The agency will leverage
its Artemis experience and technologies to prepare for the next giant leap –
sending astronauts to Mars.
To learn more about NASA’s Artemis program and Moon to Mars exploration
approach, visit:
<https://www.nasa.gov/moontomars> https://www.nasa.gov/moontomars
To learn more about NASA's investments in space technology, visit:
<https://www.nasa.gov/spacetech> https://www.nasa.gov/spacetech
To learn more about Advanced Space and the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning
System, visit:
<https://advancedspace.com/caps/> https://advancedspace.com/caps/
-end-
Press Contacts
Clare Skelly
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-4273
<mailto:clare.a.skelly@xxxxxxxx> clare.a.skelly@xxxxxxxx
Alison Hawkes
Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, Calif.
650-604-0281
<mailto:alison.hawkes@xxxxxxxx> alison.hawkes@xxxxxxxx
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