Portal:Spaceflight/Selected article/Week 32 2008

Chang'e 1 (simplified Chinese: 嫦娥一号; traditional Chinese: 嫦娥一號; pinyin: Cháng'é Yī Hào), an un-manned lunar orbiting spacecraft, is part of the first phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Programme. This first phase is called "Orbiting (Chang’e-1)". The spacecraft is named after a Chinese mythological figure, Chang'e, pronounced roughly as chang-uh.

According to the schedule, detailed programme design was completed by September 2004. Research and development of a prototype probe and relevant testing of the probe were finished before the end of 2005. Design, manufacture, general assembly, test and ground experiments on the lunar orbiter were finished before December 2006. Chang'e 1 was launched at 10:05 GMT on 24 October 2007 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. It entered lunar transfer orbit on 31 October and lunar orbit on 5 November.

(more...)