A satellite the size of a microwave oven successfully broke free from its orbit around Earth on Monday and is headed toward the moon, the latest step in NASA's plan to land astronauts on the lunar surface again.
It's been an unusual journey already for the Capstone satellite. It was launched six days ago from New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula by the company Rocket Lab in one of their small Electron rockets. It will take another four months for the satellite to reach the moon, as it cruises along using minimal energy.
Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck told The Associated Press it was hard to put his excitement into words.
“It's probably going to take a while to sink in. It's been a project that has taken us two, two-and-a-half years and is just incredibly, incredibly difficult to execute,” he said. “So to see it all come together tonight and see that spacecraft on its way to the moon, it's just absolutely epic.”
Beck said the relatively low cost of the mission — NASA put it at US$32.7 million — marked the beginning of a new era for space exploration.
“For some tens of millions of dollars, there is now a rocket and a spacecraft that can take you to the moon, to asteroids, to Venus, to Mars,” Beck said. “It’s an insane capability that’s never existed before.”
If the rest of the mission is successful, the Capstone satellite will send back vital information for months as the first to take a new orbit around the moon called a near-rectilinear halo orbit: a stretched-out egg shape with one end of the orbit passing close to the moon and the other far from it.
Eventually, NASA plans to put a space station called Gateway into the orbital path, from which astronauts can descend to the moon’s surface as part of its Artemis program.
Beck said the advantage of the new orbit is that it minimizes fuel use and allows the satellite — or a space station — to stay in constant contact with Earth.
The Electron rocket that launched June 28 from New Zealand was carrying a second spacecraft called Photon, which separated after nine minutes. The satellite was carried for six days in Photon, with the spacecraft's engines firing periodically to raise its orbit farther and farther from Earth.
A final engine burst Monday allowed Photon to break from Earth's gravitational pull and send the satellite on its way. The plan now is for the 25-kilogram (55-pound) satellite to far overshoot the moon before falling back into the new lunar orbit Nov. 13. The satellite will use tiny amounts of fuel to make a few planned trajectory course corrections along the way.
Beck said they would decide over the coming days what to do with Photon, which had completed its tasks and still had a bit of fuel left in the tank.
“There’s a number of really cool missions that we can actually do with it," Beck said.
For the mission, NASA teamed up with two commercial companies: California-based Rocket Lab and Colorado-based Advanced Space, which owns and operates the Capstone satellite.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the federal government is 'not interested' in subsidizing future liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, including the electrification of projects currently in the works.
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
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A senior Qatari official has urged both Israel and Hamas to show "more commitment and more seriousness" in ceasefire negotiations in interviews with Israeli media, as pressure builds on both sides to move toward a deal that would set Israeli hostages free and bring potential respite in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza.
Trudeau recently appeared on four podcasts as he travels the country talking up the Liberals' latest budget, which he's pitching as a plan to inject more economic fairness into society for those under 40 — a cohort that has kept Trudeau in power since 2015 but is increasingly turning to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Russian drones early Sunday struck the Black Sea city of Mykolaiv, setting a hotel ablaze and damaging energy infrastructure, the local Ukrainian governor reported, while ammunition shortages continued to hobble Kyiv's troops in the more than two-year-old war.
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A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.
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Human rights groups and diplomats criticized a law that was quietly passed by the Iraqi parliament over the weekend that would impose heavy prison sentences on gay and transgender people.
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
Russian drones early Sunday struck the Black Sea city of Mykolaiv, setting a hotel ablaze and damaging energy infrastructure, the local Ukrainian governor reported, while ammunition shortages continued to hobble Kyiv's troops in the more than two-year-old war.
Aerial photos posted by Chinese state media on Sunday showed the wide devastation of a part of the southern city of Guangzhou after a tornado swept through the day before, killing five people, injuring dozens others and damaging over a hundred buildings.
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the federal government is 'not interested' in subsidizing future liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, including the electrification of projects currently in the works.
Trudeau recently appeared on four podcasts as he travels the country talking up the Liberals' latest budget, which he's pitching as a plan to inject more economic fairness into society for those under 40 — a cohort that has kept Trudeau in power since 2015 but is increasingly turning to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Health Minister Mark Holland says while he is 'deeply appreciative' of the work doctors in Canada do, the federal government has no plans to scrap the proposed capital gains tax changes outlined in the latest budget, despite opposition from the Canadian Medical Association.
The number of measles cases around the world nearly doubled from 2022 to 2023, researchers say, presenting a challenge to efforts to achieve and maintain elimination status in many countries.
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Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
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Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
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Take an illustrated look back at the culinary history of Winnipeg.
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Mookie Betts went 3 for 5, including a triple and an RBI single, as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Saturday.
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Ford’s electric vehicle unit reported that losses soared in the first quarter to US $1.3 billion, or US$132,000 for each of the 10,000 vehicles it sold in the first three months of the year.
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As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
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Kris Knoblauch is five months into watching Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl go to work.
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A Toronto-based restructuring firm says several bidders have offered to buy all or part of SaltWire Network and The Halifax Herald, the two insolvent companies that operate Atlantic Canada's largest newspaper enterprise.
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Regina's annual model train showcase rolled into town this weekend at the Caledonian Curling Club.
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Rainy weather for the second year in a row once again did not deter attendees from a special fundraising event.
Workers at group homes run by LutherCare Communities in Saskatoon are escalating their strike action.
On Saturday, in a display of cross-cultural solidarity, members of the Indigenous and Palestinian communities gathered in Saskatoon for an event steeped in prayer and dance.
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Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm watch for several communities in northeastern Ontario on Saturday afternoon – primarily the Greater Sudbury area and West Nipissing.
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Approximately 5.5 per cent of registered voters have cast their ballot as advanced polling in the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex by-election gets underway.
A 24-year-old man who died Friday in a car crash on Highway 401 has been identified as Omar Barzak from London, Ont.
London’s Victoria Park was filled with colours Saturday afternoon as those attending Holi threw coloured water and powders into the air in a celebration of spring and unity.
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Despite the poor weather, a festival celebrating all things maple syrup drew thousands of people to Elmvale on Saturday.
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Playing bingo in April made a local resident $100,000 richer -- and will keep him in his home.
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Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
J.T. Miller had a goal and assist and the Vancouver Canucks edged the Nashville Predators 2-1 to re-take the lead in their first-round playoff series.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
An emaciated dachshund is now recovering thanks to a Good Samaritan who found the pup near a biking trail in Kelowna, according to the BC SPCA.
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The Brooks Bandits got down to business Friday, defeating the Okotoks Oilers 8-2.
An Alberta political scientist said the NDP leadership hopefuls remained fairly even following the first of the party’s debates.
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St. Joseph’s General Hospital Elliot Lake says it is moving towards “normalcy” by transitioning to a mask-friendly policy.
Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm watch for several communities in northeastern Ontario on Saturday afternoon – primarily the Greater Sudbury area and West Nipissing.
About 100 delegates from around the province travelled to Timmins, Ont., for its annual general meeting and convention at Cedar Meadows Resort and Spa.
Legendary sportscaster Bob Cole was a Newfoundlander through and through, and his daughter says his connection to the province was 'everything' to him.
Cenovus Energy has been ordered to pay a $2.5-million fine for its role in the largest offshore oil spill ever recorded in Newfoundland and Labrador.
As more Canadians find themselves struggling to afford or find housing, the country's smallest province is the only one that can point to legislation recognizing housing as a human right.
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