China's satellite on lunar exploration mission successfully brakes for entry into orbit

New Delhi : China’s satellite which was launched for a lunar exploration mission, has successfully braked near the Moon, completing an important step before entering a required orbit, space officials said on Saturday.

Named as Queqiao, the 400-kg satellite which has a planned life of three years, was launched on Monday to facilitate a rover to communicate with the Earth from the Moon’s unexplained far side, as part of the Communist giant’s goal of being the first country to send such an exploration.

Queqiao braked 100 km above the surface of the Moon in line with instructions from a ground control centre in Beijing, and then entered a transfer orbit from the moon to the second Lagrangian (L2) point of the Earth-Moon system, the China National Space Administration said.

“There was only a short window for the braking. And Queqiao had only one chance due to limited fuel,” Zhang Lihua, project manager of the mission was quoted by state-run Xinhua news agency as saying.

The satellite was taken off on Monday to set up a communication link between the Earth and the planned Chang’e-4 lunar investigation that will explore the Moon’s mysterious far side.

The satellite is expected to fine-tune orbit several times before it reaches a halo orbit around the L2 point, about 455,000 km from the Earth.

It will be the world’s first communication satellite operating in that orbit, the report said.