Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




GPS NEWS
China Aiming To Have Its Own GPS In Place By 2012
by Xin Dingding
Beijing, China (XNA) Jan 18, 2010


File image.

China is in a rush to build its version of the Global Positioning System (GPS), by planning to launch 10 Beidou navigation satellites between now and 2012, a newly launched official website said.

"The Beidou (Compass) Navigation Satellite System, which will be completed in 2020 with 35 satellites, will enable China to shake off its dependence on GPS and achieve huge economic benefits," Pang Zhihao, a senior researcher with the China Academy of Space Technology, told China Daily.

Navigation systems deliver data from satellites that allow travelers, drivers, and military officials directions on locations and travel advice.

The third Beidou satellite will lift off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province at "an appropriate moment soon", atop a Long March-3C carrier, the center said on Friday in a statement.

Both the rocket and the satellite are now in sound condition and ready for launch, it said.

A new government-run website, www.beidou.gov.cn, was also launched on Friday. The website said that China aims to provide a positioning and navigation service by 2012 with a constellation of 12 Beidou satellites, covering the Asia-Pacific region.

But as only two have been launched so far, this means China has to launch 10 satellites in two to three years.

The system is expected to be completed with a constellation of 35 navigation satellites - five geo-stationary satellites and 30 non-geostationary satellites - and provide global service by 2020, the website said.

The Beidou system will rival the US-developed GPS, the EU's Galileo and Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System, experts said.

At present, nearly 200 million people worldwide are using GPS devices for positioning and navigation service, and GPS earns $120 billion a year, earlier reports said.

Meanwhile, an independent navigation satellite system will strengthen information security.

"Modern weapons, including guided missiles and missile defense systems, all need information supported by navigation satellites," said Peng Guangqian, a Beijing-based senior military strategist.

"Relying on other navigation satellite systems for such information is impossible in wartime," he said.

Moreover, multiple navigation systems will benefit users, since a single source could become unstable.

In May 2009, the US issued a warning of a possible GPS interruption because of delays in modernizing and deploying the Air Force satellites that provide the service.

Cao Chong, a leading expert with China's Association of Global Navigating Satellite Systems, urged international cooperation on global navigation satellite systems to avoid widespread problems if one system fails.

"If countries could strengthen cooperation, one system's failure will not have a major impact when there are other systems in place," he said.

The general public can expect to enjoy positioning, speed-measurement and time services by using the Beidou system for free, the website said. The accuracy of positioning is within 10m. A more accurate service will be available to authorized users only, according to the website.

"China welcomes international cooperation so as to better serve global users and increase the system's compatibility," the website said.

.


Related Links
China Academy of Space Technology
GPS Applications, Technology and Suppliers






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








GPS NEWS
China Launches Third Orbiter For Indigenous Global SatNav System
Xichang, China (XNA) Jan 18, 2010
China took one step forward in its ambition to build an independent global navigation network capable of rivaling foreign congeneric systems with the successful launch of a new orbiter into space early Sunday morning. Boosted by a Long-March-3III carrier rocket into a geostationary orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, it was the third orbiter China has launched for the network ... read more


GPS NEWS
The Floor Of Tycho Crater

Planning Our Phases On The Moon

Space Systems Loral To Supply Lunar Mission Propulsion System

Lava tube could house moon colony

GPS NEWS
Dune Symmetry Inside Martian Crater

Just A Few More Approaches To Try For Extrication

Hints Of Hesperian Lakes

Martian Landform Observations Fill Special Journal Issue

GPS NEWS
Spectacular Years Ahead In Space

Galactic GPS Possible With Pulsars And Gravity Waves

US still has space ambitions: NASA chief

Chairman Gordon Comments On President's Budget Request

GPS NEWS
China launches orbiter for navigation system: state media

US official questions China space intentions

China's Space Pioneers Hit New High

China Building Large Radio Telescope For Space Observation

GPS NEWS
Russian Cosmonauts Take Spacewalk

ISS Russian Modules To Realize Uninterrupted Ground Comms

How To Live Long And Prosper In Space

Russia Set To Launch Another Space Truck To ISS

GPS NEWS
Roscosmos Reserves Site For Vostochny Spaceport

USAF Awards ULA WGS-4 Satellite Launch

ISRO Plans Special Launch Pad At Sriharikotta

Arianespace Poised For 2010 Boost

GPS NEWS
Make A Play Date With Planet Explorers At The Adler

VLT Captures First Direct Spectrum Of An Exoplanet

Alien Planet Safari

Unprecedented Details Imaged On The Surface Of Betelgeuse

GPS NEWS
GOES-P Spacecraft Being Processed In Florida

Change-2 Satellite's Camera Resolution Reaches One Meter

China places record order for Taiwan flat screens

Lego expands its universe with online game




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement