According to a spokesman for the system, China's homegrown Beidou Navigation Satellite System began providing initial positioning, navigation and timing operational services to China and its surrounding areas from Tuesday.
Beidou program, referring to the Chinese word for Ursa Major, was first launched in 2000. Though it was a experimental navigation system, it offered services for certain clients.
What is now being developed is the second generation of this system, of which purpose is similar to Galileo's and GPS' ones: providing cartographic information to locate objects. Despite China is already involved in the European navigation system Galileo since 2004, they're developing this system as the way it works is rather different.
Whereas Galileo, American GPS or Russian GLONASS use medium Earth orbit satellites, the experimental Beidou only used geostationary orbit satellites. On the one hand, far less satellites are needed, but on the other hand, it doesn't cover the whole globe, but only China and neighbour countries.
The recent examples include the Ministry of Transport developing a terminal to use Beidou navigation in its monitoring of shuttle buses, tourist chartered buses and vehicles for dangerous goods. Also, the southern Guangdong Province has used Beidou to monitor the use of government vehicles to prevent private use.
This second generation Beidou is composed of both medium Earth and geostationary orbit satellites providing a total coverage of the globe.
The final aim of independence from the American GPS is supposed to be reached in 2020, but next year more satellites are being launched.
Via: Xinhuanet
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