November 2022: 12U CAPSTONE Enters Lunar NRHO as NASA’s Artemis I Deploys Ten Secondary 6U Deep-Space CubeSats
In November 2022, the 25 kg 12U CAPSTONE spacecraft entered the Moon’s Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit, followed by ten 6U cislunar CubeSats on SLS Artemis I.
November 2022 marked a watershed month for cislunar nanosatellite engineering, simultaneously demonstrating both high-reliability commercial 12U navigation and the operational challenges of deep-space 6U secondary payloads.
On 13 November 2022, Advanced Space and Terran Orbital’s 12U CAPSTONE (launched 28 June 2022 on Rocket Lab Electron + Lunar Photon) completed its ballistic lunar transfer to enter the Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) planned for the Lunar Gateway, validating Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System (CAPS) crosslink ranging with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Three days later, on 16 November 2022, NASA’s SLS Block 1 maiden flight (Artemis I) released ten 6U CubeSats (including Lunar IceCube, LunaH-Map, BioSentinel, ArgoMoon, EQUULEUS, and OMOTENASHI) from the Orion Stage Adapter.
CELESTRAK SATCAT & TELEMETRY RECORD
Verified Spacecraft Key Facts & Orbital Dossier
| Spacecraft | Class | Operator / Country | Launch & Vehicle | NORAD / COSPAR | Orbit & RF Downlink | Catalog Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CAPSTONE | 12U | Advanced Space / NASA US | Electron + Photon (Mahia) | Unassigned | Near-rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon | Completed |
Catalogued Mission Summaries & Flight Notes
- CAPSTONE (12U, 2022):
- The first spacecraft in a near-rectilinear halo orbit; a ~25 kg 12U that validated cislunar navigation and communications. All primary and extended objectives completed; NASA activities ended in June 2026 and the spacecraft continues to fly.