Beijing, Nov 5 (Xinhua) China’s lunar probe Chang’e-1 successfully entered moon’s orbit Monday, becoming China’s first circumlunar satellite.
Chang’e-1, following the instructions of the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre (BACC), started braking at 11.15 a.m. at a position around 300 km away from the moon and entered the moon’s orbit at around 11.37 a.m. after completing the braking, according to the BACC.
The braking was performed just in time to decelerate the probe, enabling it to be captured by the lunar gravity and become a “real” circumlunar satellite, said Wang Yejun, chief engineer of BACC.
The speed of Chang’e-1 reached about 2.3 km per second when it started braking. It would have flown away from the moon if the braking was too early, or it would have crashed into the moon if the braking was too late, scientists said.
After the braking, the probe’s speed was slowed down to 1.948 km per second and the satellite is now travelling along a 12-hour elliptical moon orbit.
“The orbit that Chang’e-1 is now moving on fully tallies with the one we have designed and the speed is within a normal range,” said Ji Gang, an engineer of monitoring and controlling branch of the moon probe programme.
The probe is expected to brake for two more times in the following two days to further slow down and enter a circular orbit, where it is supposed to start “working” formally.
Chang’e-1 will then stay a year in the 127-minute orbit, which is 200 km from the moon’s surface, for scientific explorations.
Chang’e-1, named after a legendary Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, blasted off on a Long March 3A carrier rocket on Oct 24 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China’s southwestern Sichuan province.