Rebecca Rogers, Systems Engineer, left, takes dimension measurements of the CAPSTONE spacecraft in April 2022, at Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc. , in Irvine, California, NASA said Tuesday, July 5, that it lost contact with a $32.7 million spacecraft headed to the Moon to test an unbalanced lunar orbit, but the agency’s engineers hope they can fix the problem. Credit: Dominic Hart/NASA via Associated Press
On Tuesday, NASA said it had lost contact with a $32.7 million spacecraft that was headed to the Moon to test an unbalanced lunar orbit, but the agency’s engineers hope they can fix the problem.
After one successful and another partial contact on Monday, the space agency He said he could no longer communicate with the spacecraft called Capstone. NASA spokeswoman Sarah Frazier said Tuesday that engineers are trying to figure out the cause of the communications outage and are optimistic they will be able to fix it.
The spacecraft, which launched from New Zealand on June 28, spent nearly a week in Earth orbit and successfully launched on its way to the moon, when communication was lost, Frazier said.
The 55-pound satellite is the size of a microwave oven and will be the first spacecraft to experience this elliptical orbit, as NASA wants to organize its gateway position. The portal will serve as a starting point for the astronauts before they descend to The surface of the moon.
The orbit balances the gravity of the Earth and the Moon and therefore requires little maneuverability and thus fuel and allows the satellite – or space stationTo stay in constant contact with the Earth.
© 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
the quote:NASA: Communication lost with spacecraft en route to lunar orbit test (2022, July 5) Retrieved July 6, 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-07-nasa-contact-lost-spacecraft-moon .html
This document is subject to copyright. Notwithstanding any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without written permission. The content is provided for informational purposes only.
