BeiDou

2022: Russia and China signed contracts for the placement of GLONASS and Beidou systems stations

At the end of September 2022 Russia China , they signed contracts for the mutual placement of navigation systems GLONASS and Beidou stations. It is assumed that the Russian the equipment will be located in the cities of Changchun, Urumqi and, and - in Shanghai the Chinese Obninsk, and. Irkutsk The deadlines for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky the completion of construction are not called.

{{quote 'Simultaneous use of Russian and Chinese systems - GLONASS and Beidou - increases navigation accuracy and reliability. Therefore, we are sincerely interested in expanding cooperation on the use of GLONASS and Beidou systems, as well as navigation technologies based on them, - said the head of Roscosmos Iouri Borisov. }}

Россия и Китай подписали контракты на взаимное размещение станций навигационных систем GLONASS и Beidou

In addition, at the end of September 2022, a statement was signed by the Information and Analytical Center for Coordinate, Temporary and Navigation Support of the Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering (part of Roscosmos) and the Research Center for Testing and Evaluation at the Chinese Office for Satellite Navigation on the joint provision of information support services to consumers of GLONASS and Beidou systems.

Шаблон:Quote 'Russian-Chinese cooperation on satellite navigation, as well as in other areas in the field of space exploration and use, will continue to expand and strengthen, - said Iouri Borisov. This is not the first experience of cooperation between Russia and China in the field of space technology. Earlier, the countries signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the creation of the International Scientific Lunar Station (MNLS). In addition, between Roscosmos and the Chinese National Space Administration there is a program of cooperation in the field of space for 2018-2022.^[1]

2021: Russia and China agree on the integration of GLONASS and Beidou satellite systems

In early October 2021 Russia China , they agreed on the integration of satellite systems GLONASS and Beidou. The corresponding roadmap for 2021-2025. approved "" and Roskosmos the Commission on the Chinese satellite navigation system. More. here

2020

Beidou official launch

On July 31, 2020, the official launch of the Chinese global navigation system Beidou took place. The ceremony dedicated to the start of the third generation satellite system was attended by representatives of the top management and leading designers of China, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.

This is an important contribution of the Chinese people to the development of the whole world, testifying to the power of science and technology of our country, "said Vice Premier of the State Council of China Liu He.

On July 31, 2020, the official launch of the Chinese global navigation system Beidou took place

According to the Global Times, a week before the official launch of the Chinese competitor GLONASS and GPS, the last, 55th, satellite of the navigation system was launched from the Xichang cosmodrome. On July 29, 2020, he completed tests, entered stationary orbit and joined the network.

Among the main benefits of this project for China, the Associated Press cites the ability to replace GPS to control its missiles, which is especially important at present amid growing tensions with Washington.

Earlier, Russia and China signed a cooperation agreement using satellite constellations for peaceful purposes - Beidou and the Russian GLONASS. The agreement laid the foundation for the creation of joint Russian-Chinese satellite navigation standards and mutual improvement of accuracy.

According to the head of the Institute for Space Policy Ivan Moiseev, the configuration of the satellite constellation is Beidou-3 such that the navigation system should be more efficient than GLONASS  and GPS, but this cannot be unequivocally stated, since there is no complete information about Chinese devices. The expert expressed this opinion in a conversation with RIA Novosti.

Their system is built in such a way that in addition to satellites in a normal high orbit of 20 thousand kilometers, several geostationary satellites are also involved. It should be more effective. The entire building system, the number of satellites, suggests that this system is more efficient than GLONASS and GPS in terms of accuracy and accessibility, he said.[2]

Completion of Beidou satellite constellation formation

On June 11, 2020 China , they announced the completion satellite system of the Beidou deployment process. In terms of the number of satellites, it surpasses, GPS as well as Russian GLONASS and European. Galileo

The last 35th Beidou satellite will enter orbit before the end of June 2020 or 20 years after the launch of the first such satellite. The total investment in the project is estimated at $10 billion, and the volume of the Chinese satellite navigation market reaches $57 billion. According to Reuters, after the completion of the formation of the orbital segment, the accuracy of Beidou will be 10 cm. This is better than that of GPS (30 cm).

China completes the creation of a competitor GLONASS and GPS

According to Andrew Dempster, director of the Australian Center for Space Engineering Research (ACSER), the Beidou system was developed long after the GPS launch, so China it had a lot of time. that account for the experience and mistakes of an American competitor.

Some Beidou links have more bandwidth, which provides better accuracy. The system has fewer orbital planes for satellites, which makes it easier to service a constellation of satellites, the expert noted.

By June 11, 2020 , more than 120 countries are using services based on data obtained through Beidou, including tracking ship traffic at ports and dealing with the effects of natural disasters. More than 70% of smartphones sold in China support Beidou, including Oppo, Xiaomi, Vivo and Samsung models.

In the PRC, this navigation system began to be used in agriculture. Nanjing Agricultural University in June 2020 developed an autopilot for sowing seeds and harvesting, working with the support of the Beidou system, which is designed to bring modern space technologies to agricultural production.^[3]

2019

Launch of the 24th satellite for the operation of the system in full force

In China, two new devices of the Beidou satellite navigation system were launched, which brought the constellation in medium Earth orbit to 24 satellites - the minimum number for global operation. According to the developers, the Chinese system is ready to work in full force, according to a report in December 2019 by the state-owned Xinhua news agency^[4][5]

China launches two new BeiDou satellites

Satellite navigation systems are used to accurately determine the position of objects on the surface of the Earth. They work on the principle of comparing the clock: the orbit of each satellite is known with high accuracy, therefore, by measuring the delay in the arrival of a signal from several devices, you can calculate the coordinates of the receiver.

Until recently, there were three global satellite systems: Russian GLONASS"," American GPS and European. Galileo For globality, that is, work at almost any point on the Earth's surface (usually circumpolar regions and sparsely populated regions of the oceans are ignored), several dozen satellites in different orbits are needed, since determining the position requires receiving a signal from at least four satellites, which should be above the horizon.

On December 16, the Changzheng-3B rocket with two new satellites of the Chinese Beidou navigation system was launched from the Xichang cosmodrome. According to the published information, the devices entered the calculated orbits with an altitude of about 21,800 kilometers and an inclination of 55 degrees, thereby completing the formation of a constellation of 24 satellites in medium Earth orbit.

In total, the Beidow system should include at least 30 satellites: 24 in medium orbit, 3 in higher inclined geosynchronous orbits and 3 in geostationary ones. This arrangement allows you to receive a signal from at least five or six devices at any point on land.

BeiDou has more satellites than GPS

In August 2019, the Chinese satellite navigation system BeiDou overtook its rival GPS in the United States in size, which could have serious consequences for both the industry and US national security. At the same time, the first BeiDou satellite was launched only in 2000 - 22 years after the start of the deployment of the US navigation system.

The Chinese analogue of GLONASS has more satellites than GPS

Nikkei analyzed the data and revealed the rapid growth of BeiDou. In 2018 alone, China launched 18 satellites for its navigation system. As of the end of June 2019, 35 BeiDou satellites were in operation, with the GPS network totaling only 31 devices, the navigation system of Europe - 22 satellites, and the Russian GLONASS - 24. There are 4 local satellites in Japan, and 6 in India. Chinese satellites were observed more often than GPS satellites in 130 of 195 countries. More than 20 BeiDou satellites were recorded over mainland China.

China is using its Belt and Road Initiative to promote the BeiDou navigation system. BeiDou satellites prevailed in 100 of the 137 countries that joined the massive infrastructure project, most of them observed in Southeast Asia and Africa.

More than 30 countries in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere use the Chinese navigation system. If it becomes the standard navigation system in these regions, China will gain an advantage when introducing new technologies and products.

The report of the US and China Economic and Security Commission, submitted by the US Congress, indicates that the Chinese authorities will invest up to $10.6 billion in their navigation system from 1994 to 2020. By 2020, China plans to launch about 10 more satellites, which will improve location accuracy and strengthen BeiDou's position.^[6]

2018: Beidou completed

On November 19, 2018, China launched two more satellites of the Beidou navigation system into orbit, as a result of which the country completed the formation of a constellation of BDS-3 satellites to provide navigation services to the countries of the Belt and Road initiative.

This event essentially marks the completion of the creation of the global navigation system Beidou, which will become a competitor to the American GPS and the Russian GLONASS.

China launched an analogue of GLONASS

The Chinese government plans not only to replace GPS in China with Beidou, but also to offer basic satellite navigation services to its partners around the world starting in late 2018.

According to the chief designer of Beidou Yang Changfeng, the launch of two more Beidou satellites into space was a key stage in the transition of the national experimental system to a regional, and subsequently to an international navigation system. He also noted that the accuracy of positioning satellites was increased from 5 to 2.5 meters compared to satellites of the previous generation of BDS-2.

The new navigation satellites were delivered to orbit using the Changzheng-3-Bi launch vehicle. The launch took place from the Xichang Cosmodrome (Sichuan Province, Southwest China) at 02:07 local time (21:07 Moscow time). Three hours after the launch, both satellites reached the calculated average altitude near-Earth orbits. 

By November 2018, there are 19 BDS-3 series satellites in orbit, and in total the Beidou system includes 43 vehicles. In 2019-2020, the PRC plans to launch six more Beidou-3 series vehicles into medium-altitude low-earth orbit.

Beidou became the fourth global navigation system after GPS, GLONASS and European Galileo. India is also building its own system called Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)^[7]

2017: Russia and China will create a technology park for satellite navigation

The State Commission on the Chinese Navigation Satellite System invited in the fall of 2017 the state corporation for space activities to participate in the creation of an international innovation center for the use of satellite navigation, according to the central media^[8]

It is assumed that the joint center will develop applications based on satellite positioning

The structure can be created on the basis of one of the universities in China. All project details are scheduled to be discussed in May 2018 during the 9th China Satellite Navigation Conference in Harbin.

"The center will focus on the latest achievements in the field, it will be possible to demonstrate equipment and equipment, conduct training and increase knowledge. We can say an analogue of Skolkovo, but with a specialization in satellite navigation, "the state corporation said.

Experts believe that the implementation of a joint Russian-Chinese project will contribute to strategic cooperation between the GLONASS and BeiDou systems, an agreement on which has been reached at the political level.

Now the parties are working on the creation of a joint GLONASS/BeiDou receiver, implementing a project for navigation and information support of cross-border crossings.

2012

At the end of 2012, the China Satellite Navigation Office published a signal specification for the Chinese Beidou navigation system. From now on, any manufacturer can produce receivers using the signals of this system. There are most likely to be those who wish, despite the fact that there are still fewer working satellites in the Beidou system than, for example, in GLONASS.^[9]

According to the plans, the Beidou system (translated from Chinese means "North Bucket," which corresponds to the name of the constellation "Ursa Major"; sometimes the name "Compass" is also used) will consist of 35 satellites - five in geostationary orbits and thirty in medium-altitude orbits. It is expected that the horizontal accuracy of determining the coordinates of the Chinese satellite navigation system will be 10 m, the accuracy of measuring time - 10 nanoseconds, and the accuracy of measuring speed - 0.2 m/s. Paid users will receive more accurate data, as well as the ability to communicate using satellite communications.

The idea to create its own navigation system appeared in the PRC back in 1980. The first experimental satellite was launched in 2000. Beidou is currently scheduled to be fully deployed by 2020. In December 2012, Beidou began providing services to consumers in the Asia-Pacific region. Currently, there are 14 operational spacecraft in space. In 2012, six navigation satellites were launched.

Rapid progress in the construction of a Chinese navigation system looks like a miracle. Especially if you recall that back in 2009, the world made fun of the story with the Beidou G2 spacecraft. Let me remind you: the Chinese navigation satellite G2 of the Beidou system was launched on April 15, 2009 and on April 23, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, entered a given orbit. Soon after, he moved 10 degrees from his orbit, became uncontrollable and began to drift to the west, joining the ranks of space debris. Approximately the same story happened in 2007, when the Beidou 1D satellite launched by China got out of the control of Chinese specialists. Later, the PRC made an attempt to raise the Beidou 1D 130 km to make it less dangerous for operating geostationary satellites of other countries.

Only three years have passed - and now the Chinese navigation satellites function properly and quite reliably, and noisy incidents no longer happen to them. According to measurements, the accuracy of determining coordinates in the Beidou system in the Asia-Pacific region is currently about 25 meters horizontally and 30 meters vertically. The Research Center for Topographic Development of the State Bureau of Geodesy and Cartography of the PRC, together with the Public and Scientific Literature Publishing House, published a report on the development of satellite navigation in China in 2011 some time ago. According to the document, this industry entered the PRC during a period of rapid development. It is assumed that by 2015 the industry's turnover will exceed 225 billion yuan (about $36 billion) and will become a new important point of growth in the national economy.

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