China is looking forward to finishing the constellation

Jun 4, 2010 10:37 GMT  ·  By
The Long March 3C rocket is seen here launching on June 2, to deliver the Compass G-3 navigation satellite to orbit
   The Long March 3C rocket is seen here launching on June 2, to deliver the Compass G-3 navigation satellite to orbit

Over the last decade, China has taken its role as a developing space power very seriously. This is evidenced by its plans to build its own space station, after having successfully completed its first spacewalk. But the Asian nation also plans to put together its own satellite navigation system. Named Beidou, or Compass, the constellation is meant to be a direct competitor of other similar systems, including the American GPS (Global Positioning System), the European Galileo network, and the Russian Federation's Glonass constellation, Space reports.

On Wednesday, June 2, a Chinese-built Long March 3C medium-lift delivery system carried a new Beidou satellite into orbit. Designed to fill a gap in payload capacities between the Long March 3A and 3B rockets, the new 3C has thus far proven to be extremely reliable. Four out of four missions that used it launched successful, from the Xichang Space Center. The facility is located in the Sichuan province, southwestern China. The new launch took place at precisely 1553 GMT (11:53 am EDT). It was just before midnight at the launch site when the rocket roared to the sky.

Experts from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology announced that the delivery system was successful in inserting the new Compass G-3 navigation satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The rocket, which boasts a height of 180 feet (nearly 55 meters), has three stages, and is additionally powered by two separate boosters, affixed to its sides. The Compass G-3 spacecraft is destined to eventually reach an altitude of 22,300 miles above the surface of the planet. From its high, geosynchronous perch, it will provide high-fidelity positioning data to ground centers, civilians and the Chinese military. It will be delivered to its final location gradually, over the next few weeks.

It will be positioned over the Equator, as the Chinese want to be able to cover the Asia-Pacific region first, before going global. There are now four Compass satellites surveying the planet, two of them in high geosynchronous orbits, and another in a lower, 13,000-mile-high orbit. The reason why China decided to build Beidou is because it wants to provide its military and population with home-produced positioning data, and therefore reduce – and eventually eliminate – its current dependency on the American-operated GPS service. The entire constellation is scheduled to be completed by no later than 2012.