China plans to establish a next-generation space-based navigation and positioning system by 2035, according to Ran Chengqi, Director of the China Satellite Navigation Office. The system, which has yet to be named, will be accessible to users anywhere, anytime on earth. “The new system will be omnipresent, smarter and more integrated. We plan to complete the system by 2035 and upon its completion, there will be Beidou service not only on land and sea, but also in the sky, outer space and deep within the oceans,” Ran said. The current Beidou network consists of satellites in medium and high-altitude orbits while system designers are considering the inclusion of low-orbit satellites in the new system to take advantage of low-orbit communication networks. By doing so, the new-generation system will be able to provide navigation and positioning services with much better accuracy, Ran added.
The current Beidou system will be improved by deploying backup satellites. “We plan to launch three to five backup satellites next year to strengthen the space-based network’s stability and reliability,” Ran said. A white paper titled “China’s Beidou Navigation Satellite System in the New Era” was published. It lays out how China plans to improve the system and pledges to step up international cooperation for better compatibility and interoperability between Beidou and other satellite navigation systems. The white paper is the second of its kind. The first was published in June 2016. Beidou is currently China’s largest civilian satellite system and one of four global navigation networks, along with the United States’ GPS, Russia’s Glonass and the European Union’s Galileo.
Since 2000, a total of 59 Beidou satellites, including the first four experimental ones, have been launched on 44 Long March 3 series rockets from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province. Currently, there are 45 satellites in active service. In June 2020, the final satellite to complete Beidou’s third-generation network was launched. The following month, President Xi Jinping announced that the system had been completed and had begun providing full-scale global services, the China Daily reports.
