Beidou/Compass series (China), Spacecraft - Navigation

Current Status
By the end of February 2012, 11 of the second-generation Beidou navigation satellites had been launched and the regional Compass system was undergoing operational trials. At that time there were five geostationary satellites, a medium Earth orbit spacecraft, and five satellites in Inclined GeoStationary Orbits (IGSO). The most recent of these was Beidou G5, launched to Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) on 24 February 2012. Beidou IGSO 5 and IGSO 4, were launched on 1 December and 26 July 2011 respectively. The previous launches were IGSO 3 on 9 April 2011 (GMT) and IGSO 2 on 17 December 2010. The fourth satellite to be placed in GEO, Beidou 1D, was reportedly the first of a new Beidou generation, although Chinese media also referred to it as a test satellite. It was launched from Xichang aboard a Long March 3A on 2 February 2007. It experienced difficulty in deploying its solar arrays after an apparent explosion of the liquid propellant apogee engine during the transfer to GEO. It began to drift off station in 2009 and is now abandoned. Compass G2, the first in the operational series of geostationary spacecraft, followed on 14 April 2009, but it soon drifted off station and has probably been abandoned. By 2020, global coverage will reportedly be provided by a system of five satellites in GEO, 27 in Medium-altitude Earth Orbit (MEO) and three in IGSO, making China the third country in the world after the US and Russia to have an independent satellite navigation

Background
The Beidou programme was initiated by China's military forces in 1983 with a proposal by Chen Fangyun to develop a Twinsat regional navigation system using two geostationary satellites. The concept was successfully tested in 1989 using two DFH-2/2A communications satellites. The Beidou (BD) system was given the go-ahead in 1993. The Beidou-2 programme was officially started in 2005 and announced by China in October 2006. The Beidou-2 system is officially known as the Compass Navigation Satellite System (CNSS). In 2006-7 the China Satellite Navigation Project Centre (CSNPC) was set up to take charge of the research, building, and management of CNSS. The name Beidou, meaning 'Northern Dipper', comes from the seven stars which are called 'the Plough' in the UK and 'the Big Dipper' in the US.The system will provide two navigation services. The open service available to commercial customers will provide positioning accuracy within 10 m, determination of speed accurate to within 0.2 m/s and timing accuracy within 10 nanoseconds. In addition to the "open" service, the system will also offer a restricted positioning, velocity and timing communications service to government and military authorities. The experimental BD system was fundamentally different from GPS or Glonass, being based on two-way signals and a central control station. The satellites did not carry their own atomic clocks. They transmit at 2,491.75 ±4.08 MHz and the ground receiver transmits back to the satellite on 1,615.68 MHz. The main control station sends enquiry signals to the users via two satellites. When the user

The complete article appears in the following publication:
Publication Title	Jane's Space Systems and Industry
Publication date	Apr 04, 2012
Section	Spacecraft - Navigation
Publication synopsis	Profiling hundreds of spacecraft, launchers, manufacturers and operators, Jane's Space Systems and Industry provides a global view of the development, application and support of space-based systems. Human, communications, imaging, scientific, Research & Development and other space applications are covered. Key objectives, developments and technical specifications of launch vehicles and in-service spacecraft are reviewed, including microsatellites and the new generation of small launchers. Space system prime contractors and major suppliers are profiled, with detailed listings of their space-related activities. Civil, military and commercial enterprises that buy, operate and support space technology and systems are covered in detail, supporting market research and procurement requirements.
The depth and breadth of information covers	Civil, commercial, scientific and military satellites Civil, commercial and military space operators Human spaceflight programmes Launch vehicles Space launch and spacecraft industry Space launch logs Worldwide launch facilities
Different sections provide in-depth detail covering	Analysis Civil Space Organisations - Launch Facilities Civil Space Organisations - Multi-National Agencies Civil Space Organisations - National Agencies Civil Space Organisations - Research & Development Civil Space Organisations - Satellite Operators Commercial Space Services - Launch Facilities Commercial Space Services - Satellite Operators Contractors Glossary Space Defence - Bases Space Defence - Operators Space Defence - Research & Development Space Industry - Joint Ventures Space Industry - Major Sub-Contractors Space Industry - Prime Contractors Space Launch Vehicles - Orbital Space Launch Vehicles - Sub-Orbital Space Logs - Logs Spacecraft - Communications Spacecraft - Defence Spacecraft - Earth Observation Spacecraft - Human Spacecraft - Navigation Spacecraft - Scientific Spacecraft - Technology Demonstration

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