Special report: China launches first lunar
orbiter
 |
|
The circumlunar satellite Chang'e-1
blasted off on a Long March3A carrier rocket at 6:05 p.m., Oct.24 from the
No. 3 launching tower in the Xichang Satellite Launch Center of
southwestern Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Li Gang)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
BEIJING, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's lunar probe Chang'e-1 is expected to arrive at the apogee of more than 70,000 kilometers from the earth on early Saturday morning after having completed its second orbital transfer on Friday, according to the moon probe team.
Chang'e-1, China's first moon orbiter, is now moving on a 24-hour orbit and it is forecast to arrive at the apogee at around5:30 a.m. on Saturday.
"Such a long distance will not be a challenge for our monitoring system. We have successfully accomplished missions to monitor a satellite which flies even further away from the earth," said Tang Ge, head of orbit monitoring and controlling office of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC).
The Chang'e-1 had traveled more than 389,000 kilometers by the time it carried out its second orbital transfer, said Zhang Bo, an engineer of monitoring and controlling branch of the moon probe program.
"It still has about 1.19 million kilometers to go before it reaches the moon orbit as planned," said Zhang.
According to Zhang, the moon orbiter will experience another two orbital transfers before it begins to fly to the moon in a real sense on Oct. 31.
"Chang'e-1 is expected to enter the earth-moon transfer orbit on Oct. 31. Before that, it's like a man-made satellite of the earth since it travels on the earth orbit," said Zhang.
The Beijing control center issued the instruction for the second orbital transfer at around 4:50 p.m.. The orbital transfer was effected at 5:44 p.m.
The probe is now moving on a 24-hour orbit with an apogee of 70,000 kilometers, up from the former 50,000 kilometers, according to information from the Yuanwang III space tracking ship at the southern Pacific.
It will stay on the orbit for three days and then move further from the earth to a 48-hour orbit on Oct. 29, according to the BACC sources.
The lunar probe completed its first orbital transfer Thursday afternoon, in which it was transferred to a 16-hour orbit with a perigee of about 600 kilometers from 200 kilometers.
The first probing equipment on the lunar orbiter started Thursday evening to explore the space environment between earth and moon.
The high-energy solar particle detector, which was positioned on board the satellite with seven other probing facilities, will collect data on the space expanse between 40,000 and 400,000 kilometers from earth.
Chang'e-1, named after a mythical Chinese goddess who, according to legend, flew to the moon, blasted off on a Long March3A carrier rocket at 6:05 p.m. Wednesday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan.
The satellite is expected to arrive in the moon's orbit on Nov.5.
The 2,300-kg moon orbiter carried eight probing facilities, including a stereo camera and interferometer, an imager and gamma/x-ray spectrometer, a laser altimeter, a microwave detector, a high energy solar particle detector and a low energy ion detector.
It will fulfil four scientific objectives, including a three-dimensional survey of the Moon's surface, analysis of the abundance and distribution of elements on lunar surface, an investigation of the characteristics of lunar regolith and the powdery soil layer on the surface, and an exploration of the circumstance between the earth and the moon.
The satellite will relay the first picture of the moon in late November and will then continue scientific explorations of the moon for a year.
China's lunar orbiter project has cost 1.4 billion yuan (187 million U.S. dollars) since research and development of the project was approved at the beginning of 2004.
The launch of the orbiter marks the first step of China's three-stage moon mission, which will lead to a moon landing and launch of a moon rover at around 2012. In the third phase, another rover will land on the moon and return to earth with lunar soil and stone samples for scientific research around 2017.
China carried out its maiden piloted space flight in October 2003, making it only the third country in the world after the former Soviet Union and the United States to have sent men into space. In October 2005, China completed its second manned space flight, with two astronauts on board.
The launch of Chang'e-1 came shortly after Japan launched its first lunar probe, Kaguya in mid-September, while India is planning to send its own lunar probe into space next April, sparking off concerns of a space race in Asia.
But Luan Enjie, chief commander of China's lunar orbiter project, said that "China will not be involved in moon race with any other country and in any form."
"China will, in the principle of pursuing a policy of peaceful use of airspace, share the achievements of the lunar exploration with the whole world," he told Xinhua.
BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's first
lunar probe Chang'e-1 completed its first orbital transfer Thursday afternoon,
another key move in its 380,000-km journey to the moon.
The orbital transfer began at 5:55 p.m. and succeeded
after 130 seconds. The probe was transferred to an orbit with a perigee of about
600 km, up from the former 200-km perigee, according to the Beijing Aerospace
Control Center (BACC). Full story
BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists
have successfully activated the first probing equipment on the Chang'e-1 lunar
orbiter on Thursday evening to start exploring the space environment between
earth and moon. Full story
BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- China has no plan
or timetable for a manned moon landing for now, senior Chinese lunar scientists
told Xinhua on Thursday, a day after the nation launched its first lunar probe,
Chang'e-1. Full story
BEIJING, Oct.24 (Xinhua) -- China successfully
launched its first circumlunar satellite Chang'e-1 on Wednesday, another step
towards its ambition to become a major power in the outer space. Full story
XICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China will not
embark on any lunar probe competition "in any form with any country" and will
"share the results of its moon exploration with the whole world" in its pursuit
of a policy of peaceful use of airspace, said a chief commander of the country's
first lunar satellite project. Full story
XICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's
first lunar probe Chang'e-1 has begun to use solar energy for power supply as
the solar panel of the orbiter was unfolded as planned, according to the control
center. Full story
XICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chang'er
Chang'e-1 is successfully separated from carrier rocket as planned, the control
center said. Full story
BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China launched its
first lunar probe on Wednesday, first step into its ambitious three-stage moon
mission, marking a new milestone in the country's space exploration history. Full story
XICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's
milestone lunar orbiter project only costs 1 to 1.4 billion yuan (about 133 to
187million U.S. dollars), the same amount as the money used to construct 2 km of
subway in Beijing, said Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of the lunar exploration
program. Full story
XICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's
first moon orbiter which is likely to be launched at around 6:00 p.m. Wednesday
from a southwest launch center, has been named after "moon lady" Chang'e, a
mythical Chinese goddess who flew to the moon. Full story
BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Testing operators
have started leaving the launching tower in the Xichang Satellite Launch Center,
where China's first lunar probe Chang'e-1 will blast off at around 6:00 p.m. on
Wednesday. Full story
XICHANG, Sichuan Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese
press and thousands of tourists have gathered at China's Xichang Satellite
Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province to witness the launch of the
nation's first moon orbiter, which is scheduled to take place at 6:05 p.m. on
Wednesday. Full story
XICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- China is
busy preparing for the launch of its first moon orbiter which is likely to take
place on Wednesday evening. The rocket is now on the launch pad and all staff
are in position at the site. Chinaview.cn will telecast live the launch of the
orbiter. Full story
