Advanced Space, U.S. Air Force Sign Cooperative Agreement to Collaborate on Cislunar Activities
Advanced Space LLC., a leading space solutions
company, has entered into a Cooperative Research And Development Agreement (CRADA) with the
U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Space Vehicles Directorate, and the Spacecraft
Technology Division to share data collected from cislunar space through the CAPSTONE mission.
Advanced Space owns and operates the CAPSTONE mission going to the Moon in the early part of
2022. CAPSTONE, Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation
Experiment, is a pathfinder mission for NASA’s Artemis program using a small spacecraft, CubeSat. It
will be one of the first to ever fly in the unique Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO).
The CRADA focus is to share data collected from this pioneering CubeSat scheduled to fly in cislunar
space, between the Earth and Moon. The opportunity to analyze data retrieved from the mission will
be beneficial for future mission design and navigation strategies for defense and other customers.
Rapid small spacecraft programs are one of the specialties of Advanced Space, and CAPSTONE will
demonstrate its proprietary peer-to-peer evolvable navigation system. A myriad of data is anticipated
to be collected while the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System, CAPS, allows the spacecraft to
explore and maneuver the orbit.
Dr. James Frith, AFRL’s Cislunar Space Domain Awareness PM, stated, “Advanced Space
commands a strong knowledge of cislunar space, and will be in a unique position with their
CAPSTONE mission, to provide invaluable insight to fortify our space domain awareness of cislunar
space, a domain of increased importance.”
Advanced Space optimizes mission capabilities beyond traditional strategies for enhanced
performance, rapid turn-key missions, and resilience to assure space operations. The mission design,
novel launch trajectories, and low-energy transfer that the CAPSTONE spacecraft utilizes will provide
fuel efficient solutions and mission flexibility.
Advanced Space is honored to collaborate with the Air Force and the Department of Defense
and contribute to joint research regarding cislunar space.
“Our team of experts develop technology and novel methodologies that will support research and
experiments conducted by AFRL to inform the future of secure space exploration,” said Bradley
Cheetham, Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Space and Principal Investigator for the CAPSTONE
mission. “Advanced Space is honored to collaborate with the Air Force and the Department of
Defense and contribute to joint research regarding cislunar space and generate solutions for space
sustainability and security.”
Contact: press@advancedspace.com
About Advanced Space
Advanced Space (https://advancedspace.com/) supports the exploration, development, and settlement of space
through software and services that leverage unique subject matter expertise to improve the fundamentals of
spaceflight. Advanced Space is dedicated to improving flight dynamics technology development and expedited
turn-key missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Learn more about what Advanced Space is creating, check out details on the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning
System Technology Operations Navigation Experiment site.
