China launches a pair of BeiDou-3 satellites

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China sent a pair of BeiDou-3 navigation satellites into space on a Long March-3B carrier rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province at 12:23 p.m. Monday.

The satellites entered their planned orbit after flying more than three hours, and will work with the 14 BeiDou-3 satellites already in orbit. The satellites are the 39th and 40th of the BeiDou navigation system, and the 15th and 16th of the BeiDou-3 family.

The satellites and the rocket for Monday's launch were developed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, respectively. The launch was the 287th mission of the Long March rocket series.

The Long March-3B carrier rocket, with the twin BeiDou-3 navigation satellites onboard, lifts off at Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province at 12:23 p.m. of October 15, 2018. /CCTV Photo

This year has seen several BeiDou satellite launches. By the end of the year, China plans to send another three BeiDou-3 satellites into space to form a basic system for providing services for countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper constellation, the BeiDou system was established in China in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific region in 2012.

Over the past five years, the system has helped rescue more than 10,000 fishermen. More than 40,000 fishing vessels. Around 4.8 million commercial vehicles in China are equipped with BeiDou.

The model of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System is on display at an exhibition held in the city of Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, September 30, 2018. /VCG Photo

The system also helps to monitor the structural integrity of highways, pipelines, dams and bridges.

More than 300 million mobile phones in China can connect to BeiDou.

The system now covers more than 50 countries with a total population of more than three billion. By 2020, BeiDou is expected to provide first-class services around the globe.

(Top photo: The Long March-3B carrier rocket, with the twin BeiDou-3 navigation satellites onboard, lifts off at Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province at 12:23 p.m. of October 15, 2018. /CCTV Photo)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency