Long March-3C launches BeiDou-2 GEO-8 satellite

BeiDou Navigation Satellite System logo.

May 18, 2019

Long March-3C launches BeiDou-2 GEO-8 satellite. Image Credit: Xinhua

A Long March-3C launch vehicle launched the BeiDou-2 GEO-8 navigation satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province, China, on 17 May2019, at 15:48 UTC (23:48 local time).

Long March-3C launches BeiDou-2 GEO-8 satellite

The new satellite is the fourth BeiDou-2 backup satellite and the 45th satellite of the BeiDou satellite family. According to official sources, the satellite entered its designated orbit. Long March 3C rocket launches a satellite for the country’s Beidou navigation network toward geostationary orbit.

Render of a BeiDou-3 satellite by J. Huart

The MEO satellites are the Medium Earth Orbit component of the 3rd phase of the Chinese Beidou (Compass) satellite navigation system. The satellites are part of a fleet that will expand the system to a global navigation coverage.

The Beidou Phase III system includes the migration of its civil Beidou 1 or B1 signal from 1561.098 MHz to a frequency centered at 1575.42 MHz – the same as the GPS L1 and Galileo E1 civil signals – and its transformation from a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation to a multiplexed binary offset carrier (MBOC) modulation similar to the future GPS L1C and Galileo’s E1.

Image above: BeiDou Constellation Overview (Compass Navigation Satellite System). Image Credit: CASC.

The Radio Navigation Satellite Service (RNSS) is very similar to that provided by GPS and Galileo and is designed to achieve similar performances.

For more information about Beidou navigation system: http://www.beidou.gov.cn/

For more information about China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC): http://english.spacechina.com/n16421/index.html

Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: CASC/Beidou/China Central Television (CCTV)/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

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