China's second unmanned lunar probe, Chang'e-2, blasts off today!

[heavystorm]

XICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's second unmanned lunar probe, Chang'e-2, blasts off on Friday, inaugurating the second phase of the country's three-step lunar exploration program.

At 6:59:57 p.m. Friday, the Chang'e-2 blasted off on a Long March 3C carrier rocket from the No. 2 launching tower at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The lunar probe will test key technologies and collect data for future landings of Chang'e III and Chang'e IV, and provide high-resolution photographs of the landing area.

Chang'e II was built as an alternative to Chang'e I, which was launched in October 2007 and maintained a 16-month lunar orbit. The series of Chang'e probes is named after a legendary Chinese moon goddess.

 

[heavystorm]

Long view 6 space navigation chontrol ship.

 

[heavystorm]

 

[heavystorm]

 

[siegecrossbow]

Video footage of the launch sequence:

????????-??-????-???-?????????

 

[Evil Flare]

Thats Scary

 

[no_name]

I just think they could come up with a better graphical design than this...

 

[CardSharp]

I just think they could come up with a better graphical design than this...

Espcially when the acronym the CLEP is so close to the clap.

Gonorrhea (also gonorrhoea, sometimes referred to as 'the clap') is a common sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae

 

[peaceful]

Espcially when the acronym the CLEP is so close to the clap.

uneducated morons who could not tell the difference should not read such news report in the first place.

problem solved

 

[CardSharp]

uneducated morons who could not tell the difference should not read such news report in the first place.

problem solved

lol pardon me?

 

[siegecrossbow]

uneducated morons who could not tell the difference should not read such news report in the first place.

problem solved

Dude like I said before being patriotic doesn't mean you have to support everything Chinese. There are still many problems with our country and noname has a valid complaint.

 

[GSK]

I just think they could come up with a better graphical design than this...

It looks like a ear, to listen to complaints. Just kidding.

 

[Vikram]

Congrats China..........you hold the becon of development of Asia till WE get there

 

[muse]

There is a theory doing the rounds that the stuxnet virus may have been created to target Chinese and Indian space programs -- does anybody have any information on this?

 

[Brotherhood]

Launch procedures of Chang'e II - People's Daily Online

The graphics shows the launch procedures of China's second unmanned lunar probe, Chang'e II, which blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Oct. 1, 2010. (Xinhua/Zheng Yue)