Satnews Daily
December 19th, 2010

China... Another Beidou Joins Constellation



China Long March launch of Beidou satellite, the seventh in the series.
[SatNews] Xinhua is reporting that China has successfully launched an orbiter into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province, occurring at 4:20 a.m. Beijing Time, Saturday.

This was the seventh orbiter China has launched for its independent satellite navigation and positioning network, also known as Beidou, or Compass, system, and is the 136th flight for the country's Long March series of rockets. The new satellite joins six other satellites already in orbit to form a network, which will eventually consist of more than 30 satellites.

China started building its own satellite navigation system to end its dependence upon the U.S. GPS system in 2000, when it sent two orbiters as a double-satellite experimental positioning system. Beidou is designed to provide navigation, time, and short message services in the Asia and Pacific region before 2012 and will be capable of providing global navigation services by 2020.