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Tech

NASA scrambles after briefly losing contact with $32.7M satellite

By
Thomas Barrabi
Published July 6, 2022, 1:57 p.m. ET

NASA officials re-established contact Wednesday after losing touch with a $32.7 million satellite with a key role to play in the space agency’s long-term effort to return to the Moon.

NASA said earlier in the week that it was experiencing “communications issues” with the satellite, dubbed the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, or CAPSTONE.

The issues began shortly after the tiny 55-pound satellite successfully launched from a site in New Zealand on June 28. The satellite made initial contact with a ground station based in Spain and partial contact with another site in California before dropping off the grid.

A spokesperson for the agency said officials were “working to understand the cause and re-establish contact” with CAPSTONE.

“From these contacts, mission operators have been able to determine CAPSTONE’s approximate position and velocity in space,” NASA said in a statement.  

NASA CAPSTONE satellite
The satellite is roughly the size of a microwave. NASA

“As a result of the communications issues, CAPSTONE’s first trajectory correction maneuver – originally scheduled for the morning of July 5 – has been delayed,” an agency spokesperson added.

NASA said the satellite, which is roughly the size of a microwave, had enough fuel to next phrase of its trip by “several days” until communication can be re-established.

NASA was able to re-establish contact with the satellite by Wednesday morning — though officials did not immediately provide an explanation for what happened.

“Mission operators have re-established contact with NASA’s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) spacecraft. Additional updates will be provided,” the agency said in an update.

NASA has described the CAPSTONE device as a “pathfinder” to determine a safe orbital path for a planned lunar space station. The agency is pursuing a project dubbed “Artemis” – a public-private collaboration aimed at bringing astronauts back to the Moon.

NASA CAPSTONE satellite
The satellite is part of NASA’s “Artemis” project. NASA

“After a four-month journey to its target destination, CAPSTONE will orbit this area around the Moon for at least six months to understand the characteristics of the orbit,” NASA said in a blog post explaining the mission.

“Specifically, it will validate the power and propulsion requirements for maintaining its orbit as predicted by NASA’s models, reducing logistical uncertainties.”

With Post wires