BEIJING: China launched the last pair of backup satellites for the BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System (BDS-3) on Thursday.
The satellites, the 59th and 60th in the family of BeiDou, were launched at 9:14 a.m. (Beijing Time) and sent into orbit by a Long March-3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
The two medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites will enhance the system’s reliability and improve services of positioning, navigation, timing as well as short message communication for global users, as reported by China Media Group (CMG).
In addition to backup satellites, BDS-3 now operates a total of 30 networking satellites in orbit, most of which have been in service for six years. With most of these satellites designed for a lifespan of 10 years, researchers are planning an upgrade for the deployment of new satellites.
“We will enter the deployment of BDS-4, with the two satellites serving as the last additions to BDS-3,” Liu Yingchun, chief designer of BDS-3, told CMG.
Therefore, they will also conduct technical verification and exploration besides the regular operations in the constellation, said Liu.
China has set a three-step development strategy for its BeiDou navigation system, with the first step to provide services to domestic users, the second to expand services to the Asia-Pacific region, and the third to provide services globally.
The construction of BDS-1 and BDS-2 was completed in 2000 and 2012, respectively, and China became the third country to have an independent global navigation satellite system when BDS-3 was completed and put into service in July 2020. The completion of the three-step strategy is not the end. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
