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NASA Sets a Two-Spacecraft Moon Demonstration

CAPSTONE02 will test autonomous rendezvous, formation flight, navigation and communications in cislunar space.

Published Updated Story ID: mp-2026-07-26-019
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Summary

CAPSTONE02 will test autonomous rendezvous, formation flight, navigation and communications in cislunar space.

NASA selected a 2027 technology demonstration using two roughly 400-kilogram Terran Orbital spacecraft near the Moon. CAPSTONE02 is intended to test autonomous navigation, rendezvous and proximity operations, formation flight, communications and radiation measurements. It is an awarded mission plan, not a launch or completed demonstration.

Why it matters

CAPSTONE02 will test autonomous rendezvous, formation flight, navigation and communications in cislunar space.

Limits and context

  • It is an awarded mission plan, not a launch or completed demonstration.

Key claims

  1. CAPSTONE02 will test autonomous rendezvous, formation flight, navigation and communications in cislunar space.

    Qualification: It is an awarded mission plan, not a launch or completed demonstration.

    Evidence: source-2026-07-26-021

Sources

  1. NASA: CAPSTONE02 cislunar technology demonstrationNASA · official announcement

Corrections

No corrections have been recorded for this story.