NASA’s Artemis 1 mission, carrying ArgoMoon, the satellite of the Italian Space Agency, developed and operated by Argotec, took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on November 16, 2022 at 6:47 UTC (November 16, 2022 at 7: 47 CET). ArgoMoon was released from the second stage of SLS (ICPS, Interim Criogenic Propulsion Stage) at 11:34 CET. Argotec engineers captured the signal minutes later, taking over communication with the satellite. The Flight Control Team requested more time to finalize the first phase of mission operations due to complex post-deployment maneuvers, but late in the evening of Wednesday November 16, the satellite was in stable condition and, the next day, at 00:00: 15:00 CET ArgoMoon had already captured a photo of the Earth to calibrate the cameras.
Subsequently, on November 17, 2022 at 11:55:10 CET, ArgoMoon also took a picture of the Moon. ArgoMoon has taken two incredible images of the Earth, at a distance of about 125,000 kilometers, and of the Moon, at 278,500 kilometers. The engineers are working in the Argotec Control Center to complete the commissioning and proceed with the mission. “Beautiful photos of the Earth and the Moon, our next home thanks to the Artemis program!” said Giorgio Saccoccia, president of the Italian Space Agency. They were taken by our cubesat ArgoMoon on its transfer journey after separation from the Space Launch System, the new large American launcher, indispensable for returning humanity to the Moon. Italy is here!”
“Hawk, our satellite platform has once again ensured excellent performance in extremely complex contexts”. Said David Avino, CEO and founder of Argotec. “For the second time in a few weeks we have consigned to history photos from deep space, LiciaCube from 11 million kilometers and ArgoMoon approaching the Moon. The successes of this last month demonstrate the reliability and the advanced technology of our systems which, combined with the proven capabilities of the team, lay a solid foundation for Argotec’s ambitious growth plans. I thank ASI and NASA for their trust, which has led to a very fruitful collaboration”.