China's homegrown navigation system, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), will cover the whole globe with a constellation of 35 satellites by 2020, according to a white paper released by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) on Thursday elaborating on the action plan for the BeiDou, which has been independently developed and operated by China.

China has formulated a three-step strategy for developing the BDS, said the government report.

This is the first white paper on the navigation satellite system. It is also the 100th white paper released by the SCIO.

Initially, China aimed to provide services to domestic users. The following stage featured the expansion of the network to cover the Asia-Pacific region, which was achieved by the end of 2012.

Currently, B1I and B2I open service signals are being broadcast by the operating BDS-2, providing open services to the Asia-Pacific region free of charge, according to the white paper.

The services cover an area between 55 degrees north latitude and 55 degrees south latitude, and between 55 and 180 degrees east longitude, with positioning accuracy less than 10 meters, velocity measurement accuracy less than 0.2 meters per second, and timing accuracy less than 50 nanoseconds.

BDS spokesperson Ran Chengqi told a press conference Thursday that tests in the Asia-Pacific region showed the system to be performing well.

Ran, who is also director of China's Satellite Navigation System management office, said in priority cities including Beijing and Urumqi, the capital city of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, positioning accuracy was less than 5 meters.

The same result can be duplicated in low latitude countries, such as Thailand, according to Ran.

The BDS will provide all-time, all-weather and high-accuracy positioning, navigation and timing services to global users, according to the document.

The BeiDou project was formally launched in 1994, however, the first BeiDou satellite was not launched until 2000. The 23rd satellite was launched Sunday.

In addition to providing continuous, stable and reliable services for global users, the BDS will support national security, economic and social development, and improve people's living standards.

According to the document, the BDS is designed to provide open satellite navigation services free of charge.

International cooperation and exchanges on navigation satellite systems will be encouraged and the BDS compatibility with other systems will be enhanced to provide better services to end users.

"As the BDS is used with other navigation satellite systems, China will work with all other countries, regions and international organizations to promote global satellite navigation development and make the system better serve the world and benefit mankind," according to the document.

Products related to the BDS have been used in areas including communication and transportation, marine fisheries, weather forecasting, mapping and geographic information, forest fire prevention.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)