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Advanced Space Announces CAPSTONE Separation To Start Solo Journey Mission to Moon for NASAFirst CubeSat, "Mini-Satellite" to Make Solo Flight the Moon Leaves Low-Earth Orbit and On To Test Unique Orbit; Transferring Mission from Launch Provider to Lunar Operations. WESTMINSTER, Colo., July 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Space LLC., a leading commercial space tech company pioneering the pathfinder mission, spacecraft separated from Rocket Lab's Photon upper stage today after its launch on June 28. The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) spacecraft has orbited Earth while raising its position to be thrusted beyond low-Earth orbit on a trajectory to the Moon. "The time has come to execute our unique expertise for this monumental Moon mission for NASA," said Bradley Cheetham Advanced Space and Terran Orbital teams will take over operations for CAPSTONE as the spacecraft bids farewell to its ride from Rocket Lab. CAPSTONE™ is owned and operated by Advanced Space on behalf of NASA. It will be one of the first CubeSats, or small satellites, to fly in cislunar space – the orbital area near and around the Moon – and demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation technology. "Our Advanced Space team has been prepared and ready to manage and navigate the CAPSTONE mission for months," stated Thomas Gardner, Advanced Space director of engineering and the CAPSTONE program manager. "I have been in the industry for over 40 years, and to see a spacecraft of this size perform this type of lunar mission demonstrates how technological advancements have made possible this class of mission to succeed. It is extraordinary to contribute to the industry in this groundbreaking manner." "Getting to this point, we have learned a tremendous amount already, and the time has come to execute our unique expertise for this monumental Moon mission for NASA," said Bradley Cheetham, Advanced Space chief executive officer and CAPSTONE principal investigator. "Over eleven years ago, we started Advanced Space with a purpose to enable the sustainable exploration, development, and settlement of space. CAPSTONE represents the manifestation of our focus on building programs and technologies that will enable this vision for the future." About CAPSTONE™: Advanced Space leads the CAPSTONE mission. Critical partners in the CAPSTONE mission include:
About Advanced Space: Advanced Space (https://advancedspace.com/) supports the sustainable exploration, development, and settlement of space through software and services that leverage unique subject matter expertise to improve the fundamentals of spaceflight. Advanced Space is dedicated to improving flight dynamics technology development and expedited turn-key missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Learn more about what Advanced Space is creating; check out the CAPSTONE mission page. CAPSTONE real-time updates - use NASA Eyes on the Solar System interactive real-time 3D data visualization. Starting soon after separation and during CAPSTONE's mission, you can virtually explore its path with NASA's Eyes. Advanced Space Press Kit
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/advanced-space-announces-capstone-separation-to-start-solo-journey-mission-to-moon-for-nasa-301580125.html SOURCE Advanced Space |