XICHANG, Sichuan, China - China has launched an experimental spacecraft to test technologies to be used on the Chang'e-5 lunar probe. The Long March 3C launch vehicle lifted off on October 24 at 2:00 a.m. local time (October 23 at 2:00 p.m. EDT) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle and entered orbit as planned shortly after.
The spacecraft, known as Chang'e 5-T1, will consist of a service module and a return capsule. It will travel to the moon, loop behind it, and then return to Earth. The entire trip is expected to take nine days. Once the return capsule returns to Earth, it will use a Soviet-designed method to slow descent by first bouncing on the atmosphere, before re-entering the atmosphere to land.
According to state news agency, Xinhua, the purpose of the mission is to obtain experimental data and validate re-entry technologies such as guidance, navigation and control, heat shield and trajectory design for a future touch-down on the moon by Chang'e-5, which is expected to be sent to the moon, collect samples and return to Earth in 2017.
The launch also included the Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M). 4M is a small spacecraft, which will transmit messages in memory of Prof. Manfred Fuchs and greetings from all around the world. Furthermore, 4M has a radiation experiment on board to measure the size of an appropriate radiation shielding and a multi-lateration trial for spacecraft navigation for the next lunar mission. After the moon turn around, the probe will return to the earth and possibly enter into an elliptic earth orbit with the nearest point at about 50,000 km.
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