Rocket Lab launches first mission to the moon from New Zealand in late 2021

Rocket Lab, the New Zealand-born airline, has announced its first mission to the moon. The launch is scheduled for late 2021 and the Electron rocket will take off from Rocket Lab in New Zealand.

Funded by NASA, Rocket Lab’s first lunar mission aims to test the moon’s orbit. This will be used by Lunar Gateway Space Station As part of the US Space Agency’s Artemis program. The mission will launch at the end of 2021, but we don’t have an exact date yet.

Rocket Lab is not as well known as the giants SpaceX assembles the largest rocket ever. We must not forget either Blue Origin, who sent Jeff Bezos into space last month. However, Rocket Lab has already specialized in putting dozens of satellites into orbit.

The Rocket Lab satellite will pave the way for NASA’s Artemis program

At the end of 2021, Electron rocket Which was captured by a helicopter for reuse will take off from New Zealand. This flight was initially scheduled to take off from NASA’s Wallops base in the United States in early 2021. However, it was postponed.

It will propel the electron rocket If the CAPSTONE satellite (Solar Autonomous GPS Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment). It is a CubeSat satellite. This small satellite, weighing only 25 kg, will reach orbit around the moon after a trip of 3 or 4 months.

As explained by Rocket Lab, the Photon platform will be used to ” Place the satellite on a path that will take it outside Earth’s orbit to the Moon. Après avoir décollé à bord d’Electron vers une orbite terrestre basse, Photon se séparera et utilisera son moteur HyperCurie imprimé en 3D pour fournir une propulsion dans l’Espace afin de permettre à CAPTSONE de seteré de la libre liber the moon ».

Rocket Lab’s CAPTSONE mission will pave the way for Artemis Which will cost 32 billion euros for NASA. The satellite will determine the thrust needed to position itself in a high lunar orbit. will also test Navigation systems between spacecraft So that the next space station of the Lunar Gateway can secure a place in orbit around the Moon.

Source : Engadget