China launched its first lunar probeon Wednesday, the first step into its ambitiousthree-stage moon mission, marking a new milestonein the country's space exploration history.
The circumlunarsatellite Chang'e-1 blasted off on a Long March 3A carrier rocket at 6:05 p.m. from the No. 3 launching tower in the Xichang Satellite Launch Center of southwestern Sichuan Province.
Hundreds of domestic reporters, more than 2,000 tourists from all over the country, and space experts from Japan, Germany, Italy and other countries invited by the Chinese space authorities gathered at the launch center to see the historic moment.
"The launch was very successful, and everything is proceeding just as planned," said Wu Ji, director of the Space Science and Applied Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). www.liuxuepaper.com
Chang'e-1 separated from carrier rocket at 6:29 p.m. and entered into a 16-hour orbitat 205 kilometers perigee and 50,930 kilometers apogee, according to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC).
Chang'e-1 is so far the most sophisticatedsatellite China has ever built. Scientists will maneuver it at least 10 times before it arrives in the moon's orbit. China's Shenzhou VI manned spacecraft was maneuvered three times by scientists in the flight control center.
另外相关作文：
英语范文:
one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. The great space project of landing on the moon in 1969 was without doubt one of the major turning point of the world history. Still, it provokes controversy.
Perhaps the most compelling and wide spreading argument against this program is that many people believe that they actually cannot enjoy any benefit from it at all. In consequence, they regard that it has wasted a huge amount of money which can be used for other practical purpose, such as education and transport.
Yet, there is another side to the picture. In fact, it is landing on the moon that enables mankind to uncover the mysterious mask of the moon, which is definitely a great milestone in humans’ history. Fantastic, mysterious, the wonderful image of the lunar landscape never fails to fascinate mankind in the past. Still, people never cease to wonder what on earth the moon is. The great project of landing on the moon bridges humanity and the unknown beautiful planet, which seems so near to us but still we know so little of. Also, the purpose, which should not be overlooked, to explore the moon is that to find an alternative habitat for future generations.
Furthermore, owing to the great the success of this program, mankind begins to explore the new world - the outer space. Not surprisingly, since then, the scientists endeavor to apply the space technology to improve the quality of life. This can be exemplified by the case of wide application of satellites, which bring us great convenience. Imagine, without the satellites to forecast the weather, to locate the position by GPS, or to transport the signals of the TV programs and the mobile phones, what would happen to us?
The space project, apparently, enable us to establish the confidence of the technology. The quality of daily life, therefore, has been improved dramatically. However, no matter landing on the moon or whatsoever, they all belonged to the history; it is the expectation for the future that leads to the progress of human beings.
小编建议：英语作文