posted 06-24-2022 04:46 PM               

Advanced Space CAPSTONE

The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) mission is a small spacecraft pathfinder for NASA's Artemis program. It will leverage a highly efficient transfer to the moon and demonstrate Advanced Space's proprietary peer-to-peer navigation capability in the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System (CAPS).

A Story in a Patch

The mission patch is a snapshot of CAPSTONE's daily life at the moon with details that thread its story through past, present, and future.

• The Past: Nodding to the Apollo patches of the past, the stars honor those in the program who were lost but not forgotten. The stars represent the late Dr. George Born and Darrell D. Cain, both of whom were foundational to Advanced Space's technical expertise and core beliefs.

• The Present: The orbit that CAPSTONE will be traversing is integral to the Artemis program. By being the first craft to navigate this Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO), CAPSTONE will provide pathfinding data and experience to go beyond.

  The extension of the orbit beyond the confines of the patch represents the pathfinder nature of the mission. The location markers on the spacecraft and above the moon represent the the technology demonstration of CAPS.

• The Future: Advanced Space sees a future at Mars enabled by the technology demonstrated during the CAPSTONE mission. And so, the company put Mars on the horizon for the next giant leap, as seen in the red point among the stars.

posted 06-24-2022 04:46 PM               

Rocket Lab Lunar Mission

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.

Unlike the Apollo lunar missions of the 1960s and 70s, which took a free return trajectory to the Moon, this fuel efficient ballistic lunar transfer makes it possible to send CAPSTONE on its way to such a distant orbit using a small launch vehicle.

The Rocket Lab Lunar Mission CAPSTONE mission patch will be available from the company's store.

posted 09-06-2022 11:52 AM               

It has the following SKU patch design number 446044. It is made in China. The date code used is now confirmed as;

• 446044 A-B Emblem Made In China 08/22 01
  
• 446044 A-B Emblem 09/22 01 (missing Made In China)