20:41, 12-Feb-2018
BeiDou Satellite System: The three-step strategy for developing the system
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Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System has been independently developed and operated by China. And the country has a three-step strategy for developing the system.
In the first step, the project aimed to provide services to domestic users, and it was formally launched in 1994. A test system was completed and put into operation in 2000, making China the third country in the world to own a self-developed navigation satellite system, after GPS in the US and GLONASS in Russia.
The second step started in 2004, and the system expanded services to the Asia-Pacific region by the end of 2012.
The third step already began in 2009. It has the goal of providing basic services to the countries along the Belt and Road and in neighboring regions by 2018, and to provide services to global users by 2020 with a total number of 35 satellites.