NASA’s CAPSTONE probe is still at risk, despite progress

A series of technical problems following a third successful course correction maneuver threaten to sideline NASA’s CAPSTONE mission. Controllers say they are making progress with the tiny cubesat, but they are not ready to attempt a recovery yet.

The 55-pound (25-kilogram) satellite ran into difficulties either during or after its third course correction maneuver, which it successfully performed on 8 September. CAPSTONE remains on its planned course for a near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the Moon, but an unknown technical error caused it to get into a tumble. The probe launched on June 28 and is nearing the end of its four-month journey to the Moon.

Controllers are currently working on a plan to dismantle the cubesat so it can properly orient its solar panels and recharge its batteries. CAPSTONE, short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, is currently running on low power as a result of the anomaly, but no longer drains more energy than it collects. The probe also deals with some troubling temperature issues. A recovery team consisting of experts from Advanced Space, NASA, Terran Orbital and Stellar Exploration is currently hampered by communication problems, although NASA’s Deep Space Network has connected the besieged cubes set to controllers on Earth.

There is some good news to report. A spokesperson for Advanced Space told Gizmodo that the communication problem has been significantly improved and that CAPSTONE’s power condition “appears to be sufficient” to enable continuous heating of its propulsion system, “which fell below its operating temperature.”

CAPSTONE’s power is currently limited as it cannot properly orient its solar panels in relation to the Sun. Encouragingly, the spacecraft’s propellant and propulsion system remain in a recoverable state, the spokesman said. Once the temperature of CAPSTONE’s propulsion system stabilizes at 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit) for 12 or more hours, engineers will evaluate the system in preparation for a pending recovery operation. “Information about the cause of the anomaly has been obtained and is being evaluated, and recovery plans that reduce the risk of further anomalous behavior are being developed,” the spokesman added.

The recovery team has not reached a decision on when it will attempt to crash the spacecraft, but a spokesman said that “the team is working hard to make progress guided by what we learn from the data with an explicit goal of minimizing further risk to the mission. ” There’s no mad rush to jump into a recovery procedure, as CAPSTONE’s fourth of seven planned course correction maneuvers won’t happen until mid-October. The third course correction went as planned, so CAPSTONE is still on track.

The $30 million CAPSTONE project serves as a scouting mission for NASA’s future Artemis program. NASA and its international partners have announced plans to build a lunar space station, called Gateway, in NHRO, but this gravitationally stable orbit has not yet been tested. This is where CAPSTONE comes in, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that this important mission can get back on track.