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BFF-17
CHINA-SATELLITE
China launches new twin BeiDou-3 navigation satellites
XICHANG, July 30, 2018 (BSS/XINHUA) – China on Sunday sent twin satellites
into space via a single carrier rocket, entering a period with
unprecedentedly intensive launches of BeiDou satellites.
The Long March-3B carrier rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch
Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province at 9:48 a.m., the 281st mission
of the Long March rocket series.
The twin satellites are the 33rd and 34th of the BeiDou navigation system.
They entered orbit more than three hours after the launch. After a series of
tests, they will work together with eight BeiDou-3 satellites already in
orbit, said the launch service provider.
A basic system with 18 BeiDou-3 satellites orbiting will be in place by the
year end, which will serve countries participating in the China-proposed Belt
and Road Initiative.
Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, the BeiDou system started
serving China in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific region in 2012. It will be the 4th
global satellite navigation system after the U.S. GPS system, Russia’s
GLONASS and the European Union’s Galileo.
The satellites and the rocket for Sunday’s launch were developed by the
China Academy of Space Technology and China Academy of Launch Vehicle
Technology, respectively.
BSS/XINHUA/GMR/0937 hrs