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A microwave-sized satellite will be sent to the site of the future near-moon station
Photo © nasa.gov
NASA announced the launch of the Gateway station into the lunar orbit. But first, it is planned to send the CubeSat satellite there, which will check the surface characteristics.
Back in July 2019, NASA experts decided on the location of the Gateway station in lunar orbit. It is an orbital platform-gateway, which they plan to use to study the moon, and subsequently as a transfer station for astronauts. Gateway will be launched into a highly elliptical halo orbit called Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit.
The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) mission is planned to be launched by sending the small CubeSat satellite. The creators of the device will be Advanced Space and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems under a contract worth $ 13.7 million.
The satellite will be equipped with a communication system that will determine how far CAPSTONE is from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and how quickly the distance between the two devices changes. Its size will be small - approximately with a microwave.
CubeSat will fly in December 2020. The trip will take about 3 months.