Special report: China launches first lunar orbiter

The CCTV footage shows that China's first lunar probe Chang'e-1 successfully completed its 1,580,000-km flying journey to the moon after entering its final working orbit on Wednesday's morning, Nov. 7, 2007. (Photo: CCTV.com) Photo Gallery>>>

    By Xinhua writer Quan Xiaoshu

    BEIJING, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, completed its nearly two-million-km journey to the moon successfully on Wednesday morning and entered its working orbit.

    The probe, following instructions of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC), started its third braking at 8:24 a.m. and entered a 127-minute round polar circular orbit at 8:34 a.m.

    "It marks success of the probe's long flight to the moon," said Luan Enjie, chief commander of China's lunar probe project.

    TV footages showed work staff in the ground control center hailing the success with colored newsletters featuring a black headline "Circling the Moon, We Made It!" on the front page.

    The gray-haired Luan and silver-haired Sun Jiadong, chief designer of the project, wearing smiles and holding hands together tightly.

    "The satellite entered the designed working orbit just in time and very accurately today," said Sun, who has joined hands with Luan for more than a decade to develop, test and carry out the country's ambitious lunar probe project.

    Ye Peijian, chief commander and designer in charge of the satellite system, considered it "a landmark moment". "It proves that we have the ability to send our satellite to circle around the moon."

    China sent its first satellite into the Earth orbit in 1970, and has recorded more breakthroughs in its space program in recent years.

    The country carried out its maiden piloted space flight in October 2003, making it the third country 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.

    "Chang'e-1 has presented an extraordinary achievement, since it's the first time that Chinese scientists manage to maneuver a satellite 390,000 km away from the earth," said Wang Yejun, chief engineer of the BACC.

    "The probe will travel along the current orbit at a stable altitude of 200 km above the moon's surface. In each circle, it will always pass the two polars," Wang said.

    The round orbit is also the final destination of the probe, where it is supposed to start carrying out all the planned scientific exploration tasks.

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