China's first lunar probe, Chang'e 1, started its second braking this
morning, which will further decelerate the satellite to get it closer to its
final orbit.
Instructions for the braking was issued by the Beijing Aerospace Control
Center (BACC) at around 11:21am.
The braking, when completed, will help Chang'e 1 to slow down its speed to
1.8 km per second to enter a 3.5-hour orbit with a perilune of 200 km and an
apolune of 1,700 km.
The probe is expected to brake for the third time at around 8:00am on Nov. 7,
which will further slow down its speed to 1.59 km per second to put it on a
127-minute round polar circular orbit.
The round orbit is also the probe's final destination where it is supposed to
start "working" formally.
Before the second braking, Chang'e 1 was traveling along a 12-hour elliptical
moon orbit, with a perilune of about 210 km and an apolune of about 8,600 km.
Chang'e 1 successfully completed its first braking and entered the moon's
orbit at around 11:37am yesterday, which made it become a "real" circumlunar
satellite.
The probe, 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 Center in southwestern Sichuan Province.
