Tech & Sci
16:57, 27-Dec-2017
BeiDou Navigation Satellite System marks 5 years of operation
["china"]
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December 27 marks the fifth anniversary of the launch of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System's (BDS) operational capacity. BDS is a Chinese satellite navigation system that has been offering navigation services to customers mainly in Asia-Pacific region.
According to the company, which held a press conference at the State Council Information Office on Wednesday, over the past half decade, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System application industry has enjoyed rapid development and their international cooperation has become a national calling card.
According to Ran Chengqi, spokesperson for the company, the BDS-2 maintains "stable operation, enhanced performance and reliable services." Compared to 2012 when the system was first launched, the positioning accuracy has been increased from 10 meters to six meters.
In order to strengthen the system and improve the BDS satellite system, Ran said that four backup satellites were ordered, among which two have been launched into orbit, and two more are standing by for future launches. BDS-3 construction will inherit the BDS characteristics and is targeting "world-class standards".
Ran also announced that the construction of the international GNSS Monitoring and Assessment System has been completed. It has the continuous monitoring and assessment capability for BDS, GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo.
BDS is the first international hybrid satellite group, and it uses an innovative combination of navigation and positioning, short message communication, and differential augmentation.
The system won the 2016 Top National Science and Technology Progress Award, and was cited as one of the leading scientific and technological achievements of 2017 by the World Internet Conference.
BDS has been incorporated into the Belt and Road Initiative and various cooperation mechanisms have been established for the application of satellite navigation technologies. Officials say China will complete a world-class BeiDou System to give global users a more efficient and reliable navigation service.