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Chang'e 1 in final science orbit

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla

2007/11/06 10:35 CST

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Having successfully entered lunar orbit on Monday, Chang'e 1 has quickly modified its trajectory into its science orbit, a 127-minute, polar orbit 200 kilometers above the surface of the Moon, according to a story from the Xinhua news agency. Chang'e 1 finished the journey into its final science orbit at 00:24 UTC on November 7. According to the news story, the launch and orbit insertion went well enough that they have fuel margin to prolong the spacecraft's life beyond its one-year nominal mission.