China launches Satellite Positioning System
China launched a trial version of its homegrown satellite positioning system last month ahead of a planned commercial launch this year.
The system is intended to both rival and complement existing satellite navigation systems, including the U.S. global positioning system (GPS), and be fully operational by 2020.
China’s BeiDou navigation satellite system began providing services such as navigation, positioning and timing on a pilot basis to users in China and surrounding countries for free, said Ran Chengqi, director of the China Satellite Navigation Office, in a China Daily article about the launch.
The BeiDou system is the third satellite navigation system in operation worldwide. The United States’ GPS and Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) have been operational for nearly two decades, although the GLONASS system has been undergoing a major overhaul. The European Union and European Space Agency are developing a fourth satellite navigation system called Galileo.
Read the full article - China Launches Satellite Positioning System at
http://mccmag.com/onlyonline.cfm?OnlyOnlineID=291
Our thanks to Paul G4MWO for spotting this item
• Paul is the editor of the 5 MHz Newsletter, which is available as a free download.
See: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/january2012/winter_5mhz_newsletter.htm
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