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>>>
BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- China successfully
launched its second navigation satellite early Wednesday, as part of the
country's independent global satellite navigation system.
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.
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
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
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
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
