Rocket Lab to launch NASA's 55lbs 'pathfinder' satellite to the Moon

NASA has selected Rocket Lab to launch CAPSTONE that will relay information back about the Moon's cislunar orbit.

Tech and Science Editor

Published Feb 17, 2020 3:50 AM CST
Updated Nov 3, 2020 11:44 AM CST

45-second read time

NASA has announced that Rocket Lab will be the company to provide launch services to get their 55-pound satellite to the Moon's orbit.

Rocket Lab to launch NASA's 55lbs 'pathfinder' satellite to the Moon | TweakTown.com

More specifically, Rocket Lab will be taking the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE), or CubeSat to the Moon's cislunar orbit. Once it has arrived, it will learn the Moon's seven-day cislunar orbit cycle, and relay valuable information back to Earth that will allow engineers and NASA to better prepare for future missions.

The CubeSat will be aboard the Electron rocket and blast off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. At the moment, the mission is targeted to launch sometime in early 2021, and the firm-fixed launch contract is valued at $9.95 million. If you are after anymore information regarding this new contract, check out the official NASA press release here.

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News Source:engadget.com

Jak Connor

Tech and Science Editor

Jak joined TweakTown in 2017 and has since reviewed 100s of new tech products and kept us informed daily on the latest science, space, and artificial intelligence news. Jak's love for science, space, and technology, and, more specifically, PC gaming, began at 10 years old. It was the day his dad showed him how to play Age of Empires on an old Compaq PC. Ever since that day, Jak fell in love with games and the progression of the technology industry in all its forms.