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Lunar Photon

retired
Science ExplorationcislunarCOSPAR 2022-070CLaunched 6/28/2022
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Mission & Launch
Launch Mission
CAPSTONE Mission
Launch Vehicle
Electron
Launch Date
6/28/2022
Last Contact
7/27/2022
Orbit & Mass
Orbit Class
cislunar
Altitude
583,780 km
Inclination
38.96 deg
Dry Mass
55 kg
Total Mass
300 kg
Payload Classification
Mission Type
Science Exploration
Payload Category
PLAN
Payload Class
B
Organizations
Operator
Rocket Lab
Manufacturer
Rocket Lab
Registry
COSPAR ID
2022-070C
UN Registration
ST/SG/SER.E/1076
Track
Mentions
20
All verified mentions of this spacecraft in source documents.
0.0-5.0
Actions

Rocket Lab launched the CAPSTONE mission to the Moon using its Electron launch vehicle and Lunar Photon satellite bus.

PlanCapabilityGeneralValue 4.5Aug 16, 2023Rocket Lab Signs Double Launch Deal with NASA for Climate Change Research Mission

Rocket Lab previously launched NASA’s CAPSTONE mission using its Electron launch vehicle and Lunar Photon satellite bus.

RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.0Aug 15, 2023Rocket Lab to launch a NASA research mission

Rocket Lab provided launch services for the CAPSTONE mission to the Moon using its Electron launch vehicle and Lunar Photon satellite bus.

RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.5Aug 14, 2023Rocket Lab to Launch Climate Change Research Mission Focused on Arctic Ice Caps for NASA

CAPSTONE launched on Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon spacecraft bus aboard an Electron launch vehicle on 2022-06-28.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0Nov 18, 2022Terran Orbital Developed CAPSTONE Successfully Enters Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit Around the Moon

CAPSTONE launched on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket on 2022-06-28 and was deployed from Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon kick stage onto a low-energy ballistic lunar trajectory on 2022-07-04.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.6Nov 14, 2022CAPSTONE enters lunar orbit

CAPSTONE launched on Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon spacecraft bus aboard an Electron launch vehicle on 2022-06-28.

PlanGeneralValue 4.0Nov 14, 2022Making History: Terran Orbital-Developed CAPSTONE Enters NRHO Around the Moon

CAPSTONE was launched in 2022-06-01 and was deployed from Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon kick stage on 2022-07-04.

PlanGeneralValue 4.0Oct 8, 2022CAPSTONE attitude control restored

Rocket Lab launched CAPSTONE in June 2022 on its Electron rocket and injected the spacecraft into a ballistic lunar transfer trajectory using a Lunar Photon kick stage.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.3Sep 11, 2022CAPSTONE enters safe mode during trajectory correction maneuver

Lunar Photon had 10–15% of its propellant remaining more than a month after deploying CAPSTONE.

CapabilityValue 4.0Aug 8, 2022Beck: CAPSTONE demonstrates feasibility of low-cost interplanetary smallsats

Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon deployed NASA’s CAPSTONE spacecraft to the Moon on 2022-06-28 and includes MAX Flight Software among its onboard systems.

CapabilityPlanGeneralValue 4.0Jul 14, 2022MAX Flight Software from Rocket Lab surpasses the 50th mission milestone

CAPSTONE launched on 2022-06-28 aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron vehicle attached to Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon spacecraft.

PlanGeneralValue 4.0Jul 12, 2022Terran Orbital Executes CAPSTONE’s Second TCM Burn

CAPSTONE’s deployment followed six days of orbit-raising burns around Earth aboard Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon spacecraft bus.

PlanCapabilityValue 3.0Jul 7, 2022CAPSTONE Satellite, Designed and Built by Terran Orbital, Successfully Deploys from Rocket Lab Lunar Photon into Lunar Transfer Orbit

Lunar Photon performed maneuvers that increased its orbital apogee to 70,0 m before the final translunar injection burn.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0Jul 4, 2022CAPSTONE heads to the moon

Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon stage released the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) cubesat at 3:18 a.m. Eastern.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0Jul 4, 2022CAPSTONE heads to the moon

Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket launched Lunar Photon and CAPSTONE on 2022-06-28, placing them into low Earth orbit.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0Jul 4, 2022CAPSTONE heads to the moon

The Lunar Photon kick stage uses a HyperCurie engine with a specific impulse of 310 seconds.

CapabilityValue 4.0Jun 28, 2022Rocket Lab sees payoff from CAPSTONE launch

Around ten minutes after liftoff on Electron, Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon spacecraft bus with CAPSTONE attached will separate from the rocket and carry out a series of orbit-raising maneuvers that stretch its orbit into a prominent ellipse around Earth.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0May 17, 2022Rocket Lab Begins Payload Integration for CAPSTONE Mission to the Moon

CAPSTONE will be launched to an initial low Earth orbit by Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle and then placed on a ballistic lunar transfer by Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon spacecraft bus.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.2May 16, 2022The CAPSTONE Smallsat Arrives Safely @ Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand + Payload Integration Started For The Lunar Orbit Mission

Approximately ten minutes after liftoff on Electron, Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon spacecraft bus with CAPSTONE attached will separate from the rocket and carry out a series of orbit-raising maneuvers.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0May 16, 2022The CAPSTONE Smallsat Arrives Safely @ Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand + Payload Integration Started For The Lunar Orbit Mission

CAPSTONE will be launched from New Zealand on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket with a Lunar Photon upper stage.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0Apr 28, 2022Little CAPSTONE cubesat ready to launch on big moon mission next month