Thenation'sfirstmoonorbiterisscheduledtoblastoffataround6pmtomorrowfromtheXichangSatelliteLaunchCenterinSouthwestChina'sSichuanProvince. 　　"ItwillbelaunchedbetweenOctober24and26andourfirstchoiceisaround6pmonOctober24,"LiGuoping,spokesmanfortheChinaNationalSpaceAdministration,saidMonday. 　　Thelaunchwindowisabout35minutes;andsimilarslotsareavailableonThursdayandFriday,hesaid. 　　Thecircumlunarsatellite,namedChang'eIafterthelegendaryChinesefairywhoflewtothemoon,andtheLongMarch3Acarrierrockethavepassedallpre-launchtestsandhavebeentransportedtothelaunchsite. 　　ThelunarorbiterisexpectedtoentertheEarth-moontransferorbitonOctober31;andthemoon'sorbit,380,000kmfromEarth,onNovember5. 　　ThesatellitewillrelaythefirstpicturesofthemooninlateNovemberandwillcontinuescientificexplorationforayear. 　　Theorbiterwillexecuteaseriesofprojectsincludingthecaptureof3-Dimagesandanalysisofthedistributionofelementsonthemoon'ssurface,accordingtothespokesman. 　　"Expertsfromforeignspaceagencieshavebeeninvitedtowatchthelaunchatthesite,"hesaid. 　　Workwillstartthismorningtoinjectconventionalfuelintothecarrierrocket,whichwilllastabout6hours,saidaseniorengineersurnamedChengatthelaunchcenter. 　　Liquidoxygenandliquidhydrogen,bothnon-pollutingandhigh-efficientfuels,willbeinjectedaroundnoontomorrow,hesaid. 　　Li,anengineerwhohasbeenworkingatthecenterformorethantwodecades,soundedconfidentaboutthelaunch."TherehasbeennolaunchfailureinXichangsince1997,andallthepast14launchesoftheLongMarch3-Aweresuccessful." 　　Butheaddedthatweatherisafactorthatmightinfluencethelaunch. 　　TheskyinXichangfinallyturnedblueandthesunshonebrightlyMondayaftermorethan10daysofrain.LocalmeteorologistsforecastclearorcloudyskiestillSaturday. 　　ButifthelaunchcannotbecarriedoutforanyreasonbeforeFriday,thelunarorbiterwillhavetowaittillnextAprilforasuitablelaunchwindowtoblastoff,accordingtoCenZheng,chiefcommanderofthecarrier-rocketsystem. 　　InitiatedinJanuary2004,themoonexplorationprojecthasthreestages-"Circlingthemoon,LandingonthemoonandReturntoEarth". 　　Thelattertwoinvolvelandinganunmannedroveronthemoonaround2012;andbringingbacklunarsoilandrocksamplesaround2017,accordingtoearlierreports. 　　Astheinitialphaseofthelunarprobeprogram,theorbitingmissionwill"laythetechnicalfoundation"forlaterstagesofdevelopment,saidLi. 　　Ifsuccessful,themissionwillbecomethethirdmilestoneinChina'sspaceachievementsaftermannedflightsin2003and2005.