Space
10:42, 06-Nov-2017
China's BeiDou navigation goes global as twin satellites launched
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China's BeiDou satellite navigation system is going to cover the whole world, thanks to the two BeiDou-3 satellites launched into space yesterday.
The self-developed system has been providing navigation services in the Asia-Pacific region since 2012, and is now going global.
As the third generation navigation system, the BeiDou-3 provides better services: It is capable with the widely-adapted B1C signals, making the system easier to communicate with other countries' satellites.
"We will start evaluating the satellites once they get into the target orbit," said Yang Changfeng, chief designer of the system. "It will be available to the public."
China's sat-nav progress
China is the third country in the world to own a self-developed sat-nav system, after GPS in the US and GLONASS in Russia.
The country intends to launch additional 18 BeiDou-3 satellites next year, which will cover all the Belt and Road countries.
A 3D demonstration of the BeiDou-3 /Web Photo
A 3D demonstration of the BeiDou-3 /Web Photo
The finished system will contain more than 30 satellites, and cover the whole world by 2020.
There are currently three systems that can provide global coverage. In addition to the US and Russian ones, there's Galileo made by the European Space Agency.
The rocket used in the launch was Long March-3B, which was fired in Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
"The success rate of BeiDou satellite launches remains at 100 percent," Lin Yunan, head of HR in the launch center, told Xinhua.