Four satellites of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) have recently passed tests in orbit and started operation in the network, according to China's Satellite Navigation System Management Office.

The four satellites include the 41st, 49th, 50th and 51st satellites of the BDS family.

The 41st BDS satellite, launched on Nov. 1, 2018, is operating in geostationary orbit, and the 49th satellite was sent into inclined geosynchronous Earth orbit on Nov. 5, 2019. Both of them were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

The 50th and the 51st BDS satellites, launched on Nov. 23, 2019, are operating in medium Earth orbit, and were developed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Over the past two years, China has successfully sent 28 BDS-3 satellites and two BDS-2 satellites into orbit.

China plans to launch another two BDS satellites into geostationary orbit in the first half of this year to complete the global network.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Related Links
BeiDou Navigation Satellite System
GPS Applications, Technology and Suppliers

Tweet

Honeywell nets $3B+ deal for new Air Force navigation system sustainment
Washington DC (UPI) Feb 11, 2020
Honeywell Inc. was awarded a contract potentially worth $3.5 billion for development of GPS navigation system modernization, the Pentagon announced. The indefinite delivery/indefinite-quantity contract calls for production, sustainment and engineering technical services for Embedded GPS Internal Navigation System Modernization, or EGI/EGI-M, the Defense Department said in a statement on Friday. The system is an effort of the U.S. Air Force to embed a 5-channel GPS receiver into self-contained ine ... read more