https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/28/nasas-capstone-satellite-is-on-its-way-to-the-moon-thanks-to-rocket-lab/

NASA’s CAPSTONE mission, which will chart a new orbit around the Moon which will hopefully be used for a future crewed lunar space station, is underway after a successful launch on Tuesday morning. Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle delivered the CAPSTONE satellite, which is roughly the size of a large microwave oven, to Earth orbit for step one of its lunar journey.

The Electron rocket took off from Rocket Lab’s launch facility in New Zealand at 5:55 AM ET, marking Rocket Lab’s 27th flight for its launch vehicle, and its first ever with the Moon as an intended destination. The satellite will remain in low-Earth orbit for around six days, attached to a custom designed Photon upper stage created by Rocket Lab for this mission, after which Photon will ignite its engines a final time to leave Earth’s orbit on a path towards deep space, subsequently releasing CAPSTONE to continue on for arrival at the Moon roughly three months from now.