BEIJING -- China's first lunar probe Chang'e I completed its first orbital transfer Thursday afternoon, a step further in its 380,000-kilometer journey to the moon.

China's first lunar orbiter, Chang'e I, blasts off from its launch pad in the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, at about 6:05 pm October 24, 2007. [Xinhua]

The orbital transfer began at around 5:55 pm and succeeded after 130 seconds. The probe was transferred to an orbit with a perigee of about 600 km, up from the former 200-km perigee, according to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC).

Chang'e I, named after a mythical Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, blasted off on a Long March 3A carrier rocket at 6:05 pm Wednesday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

The circumlunar satellite will experience another three accelerations, which will further shorten its distance to the moon orbit, Zhou said.

It is expected to enter earth-moon transfer orbit on October 31 and arrive in the moon's orbit on November 5.