The Electron rocket took off from the Rocket Lab launcher in New Zealand at 5:55 a.m. ET, marking Rocket Lab’s 27th flight for the launch vehicle and its first ever with the Moon as a destination. The satellite will remain in low-Earth orbit for about six days, attached to a custom Photon-created upper stage created by Rocket Lab for this mission, after which Photon will turn on its engines for the last time to leave orbit. on a journey into deep space, then releasing CAPSTONE to continue on to the Moon in about three months from now. The goal of the CAPSTONE mission is to use the small satellite to test a new orbit around the Moon – an elliptical path that will provide a stable enough orbit to maintain a permanent business base for lunar expeditions to the Gateway, according to NASA’s space station, but also offers a good launch point for deeper space exploration at its farthest point. The lunar gate is a key component of NASA’s Artemis program, which will bring human astronauts back to the surface of the Moon. This is the first Rocket Lab mission in deep space, but it will not be the last – the company aims to deliver two orbital spacecraft to Mars also for a scientific mission also on behalf of NASA.
