CAPSTONE

Launch Success

Liftoff Time (GMT)

09:55:52

Tuesday June 28, 2022

Watch Replay

Official Livestream

Mission Details

Read Article

Launch Notes

Longest Rocket Lab mission to date. Time between launch and CAPSTONE deployment was just under 6 days.

CAPSTONE

Wiki

Following a three-month trip to the Moon, CAPSTONE (Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment) will enter a near rectilinear halo orbit, which is a highly elliptical orbit over the Moon’s poles, to verify its characteristics for future missions and conduct a navigation demonstration with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. CAPSTONE will serve as a pathfinder for the lunar spaceship Gateway, a key component of NASA’s Artemis program.

Trans Lunar Injection

1 Payload

25 kilograms

Rocket

Active
Electron/Explorer

Active Since 2022


Price

$7.50 million

Rocket

Height: 18m

Payload to Orbit

LEO: 320 kg

Liftoff Thrust

224 Kilonewtons

Fairing

Diameter: 1.2m

Height: 4.05m

Stages

3

Launch Site

Rocket Lab LC-1B

Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand

Fastest Turnaround

8 days 20 hours

Stats

Electron


27th

Mission

4th

Mission of 2022

Rocket Lab


27th

Mission

4th

Mission of 2022

2022


73rd

Orbital launch attempt