China readies the launch of its first moon orbiter, Chang'e One. The launch is likely to take place on Wednesday evening, as the weather appears calm. The carrier rocket and the orbiter are already in place, as are all the necessary staff members. Chang'e One, which has been named after the Chinese goddess who, according to legend, flew to the moon, is to be carried by a three-stage Long March 3A rocket.

"We're convinced of our ability to successfully realize satellite exploration of the moon, but on the other hand there is this invisible pressure and anxiety," Ouyang Ziyuan, the project's chief scientist, told Outlook Weekly.

The launch is now expected to take place at 6:05 PM today from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province. The satellite will be launched between October 24 and 26, but the first choice is today. Because the launch pad is close to a village, the inhabitants will have to be evacuated two hours prior to the launch.

Also, personnel at the launch site will retreat to two nearby shelters 15 minutes before the ignition of the orbiter, with one in a cave 60 yards away from the launch pad and the other in an underground observation room 200 yards away. The rocket will carry at launch about 40 tons of fuel, which make it a quite powerful bomb if something goes wrong. However, the Long March 3A carrier rocket has completed 14 consecutive successful launches.

"What is worrying me most is the possibility that there is still something we haven't thought of," Xinhua quoted Ye Peijian, chief designer and command-in-chief of the satellite system of China's lunar probe program. "We've exerted 200 percent in effort to ensure a 100 percent success," Ye added.

Chang'e One is expected to enter earth-moon transfer orbit on October 31 and arrive in the moon's orbit on November 5, after being maneuvered at least 10 times by Chinese satellite experts. The Chang'e is believed to be the most advanced satellite ever made by China, and will perform various scientific tasks for a year.

In 2003, China became the third country, after the Soviet Union and the United States, to launch a man into space aboard its own rocket. In October 2005, China sent two men into orbit, while it plans a space walk by 2008 and to place a man on the moon by 2020.