China successfully launched its second navigation satellite early Wednesday.
·The satellite is as part of the country's independent global satellite navigation system.
·China plans to have global satellite navigation system by 2015.
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| China's Compass-G2 navigation satellite is launched on a Long March-3C carrier rocket at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 15, 2009. (Xinhua/Li Gang) Photo Gallery>>> |
The carrier rocket, Long March 3C, blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 0:16 a.m..
An official with the National Engineering Center of Satellite Navigation told Xinhua, the successful launch of the geostationary Earth orbit satellite was of great importance as it was the second one of the country's satellite navigation system independent from foreign technology.
The system, code named "COMPASS", is a crucial part of the country's space infrastructure for providing navigation and positioning services in transportation, meteorology, petroleum prospecting, forest fire monitoring, disaster forecast, telecommunications and public security among others. It can bring significant social and economic benefits, the official said.
The system can help clients know their location at any time and place with accurate longitude, latitude and altitude data, and will offer "safer" positioning, velocity, timing communications for authorized users.
Previous reports said China planed to complete its independent global satellite navigation system by launching about 30 more orbiters before 2015, with 10 navigation satellites into the space in 2009 and 2010. The current Compass system only provides regional navigation service within China and neighboring regions.
The second "Compass" satellite and its carrier rocket were respectively developed by the China Academy of Space Technology and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology which are under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
It is the 116th flight for the country's Long March series of rockets.
China launched the first "Compass" navigation satellite into geostationary orbit in April 2007 to build up its own positioning system following the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS), the Galileo Positioning System of Europe and Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS).
Backgrounders:
U.S. Global Positioning System:
Global Positioning System is a global navigation satellite system developed by the United States Department of Defense and managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing. It became fully operational in 1993. The system allows users to determine their positions within a few meters.
Russian Glonass:
Glonass, a Global Navigation Satellite System, is the Russian version of the U.S. Global Positioning System and is designed for both military and civilian use. Both systems allow users to determine their positions within a few meters.
EU's Galileo:
The Galileo project, launched in 1999, is a joint initiative of the European Commission and the European Space Agency. Under the agreement signed by the EU transport ministers in November 2007, Galileo will be put into operation by 2013.
Backgrounder: Global Navigation Satellite System 2009-04-15
BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is the standard generic term for satellite navigation systems that provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning with global coverage.
GNSS allows small electronic receivers to determine their location (longitude, latitude, and altitude) within a few metres using time signals transmitted along a line-of-sight by radio from satellites. Receivers on the ground with a fixed position can also be used to calculate the precise time as a reference for scientific experiments. Full story
China to have global satellite navigation system by 2015 2009-01-19
BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- China plans to complete its independent global satellite navigation system by launching about 30 more orbiters before 2015, a space technology official said Sunday.
China plans to send 10 navigation satellites into the space in 2009 and 2010, said Zhang Xiaojin, director of astronautics department with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) told China Central Television (CCTV). Full story
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| The carrier rocket Long March 3-A blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province April 14,2007. China successfully launched a navigation satellite aboard Long March 3-A early Saturday. (Xinhua Photo/Li Gang) Photo Gallery>>> |
XICHANG, Sichuan Province, April 14 (Xinhua) -- China on early Saturday morning launched a navigation satellite, part of the country's "Compass" navigational system, which is expected to provide services to customers all over China and neighboring countries by 2008.
The carrier rocket, Long March 3-A, blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 4:11 a.m., and sources with the center said that the satellite had "accurately" entered its orbit, at the height of 21,500 km. Full Story
Russia sends three navigation satellites into space 2008-12-25
MOSCOW, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Russia launched a carrier rocket Thursday to put three navigation satellites into orbit, authorities said.
The Proton-M carrier blasted off at 1:43 p.m. Moscow time (1043GMT) from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan with three Glonass navigation satellites on board, a spokesman for the Russian Space Troops was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as saying. Full story
| Editor: Sun |
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