Beidou navigation system
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The Beidou Navigation System (Simplified Chinese: 北斗导航系统; pinyin: běidǒu dǎoháng xìtǒng) or Beidou Satellite Navigation and Positioning System (Simplified Chinese: 北斗卫星导航定位系统; pinyin: běidǒu wèixīng dǎoháng dìngwèi xìtǒng) is a project by China to develop an independent satellite navigation system. The current Beidou-1 system (made up of 4 satellites) is experimental and has limited coverage and application. However, China has planned to develop a truly global satellite navigation system consisting of 35 satellites (known as Compass or Beidou-2).
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[edit] Name
The Beidou Navigation System is named after the Big Dipper constellation, which is known in Chinese as Běidǒu. The name literally means "Northern Dipper", the name given by Chinese astronomers to the seven brightest stars of Ursa Major or 'the Great Bear' constellation. Historically, this set of stars was used in navigation to locate the North Star Polaris. As such, Beidou also serves as a metaphor for the purpose of the satellite navigation system.
[edit] History
Beidou 1A was launched on 30 October 2000, Beidou 1B followed on 20 December 2000, and Beidou 2A was put into orbit on 24 May 2003.[1] The latest Beidou navigation satellite was successfully launched on 15 April 2009 [2] .
In September 2003, China joined the Galileo positioning system project. China will invest €230 million (USD296 million, GBP160 million) in Galileo over the next few years.[3] Galileo is not yet operational, although two experimental satellites have been launched.
On November 2, 2006, China announced that from 2008 Beidou would offer an open service with an accuracy of 10 meters.[5]
In 2007, the official Xinhua News Agency reported that the resolution of the Beidou system was as high as 0.5 metres, considerably better than unaided GPS. [6]However, there are no commercial receivers on the market, so independent verification is not possible.
[edit] Satellites
| Date | Launcher | Satellite | Orbit | In Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/31/2000 | LM-3A | Beidou-1A | GEO 140°E | No |
| 12/21/2000 | LM-3A | Beidou-1B | GEO 80°E | Yes |
| 5/25/2003 | LM-3A | Beidou-1C | GEO 110.5°E | Yes |
| 2/3/2007 | LM-3A | Beidou-1D | GEO 86°E | Yes |
| 4/14/2007 | LM-3A | Beidou-2A | MEO 21,500 km | Yes |
| 4/15/2009 | LM-3C | Beidou-2G | MEO 21,500 km [7] | Yes |
- Note: all dates are based on China Standard Time
[edit] Current technology (Beidou-1)
Unlike the GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo systems, which use medium Earth orbit satellites, Beidou 1 uses satellites in geostationary orbit. This means that the system does not require a large constellation of satellites, but it also limits the coverage to areas on Earth where the satellites are visible. The area that can be serviced is from 70°E to 140°E, and from 5°N to 55°N.
The Beidou satellites themselves were based on the Chinese DFH-3 geostationary communications satellite and had a launch weight of 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) each.[8]
To calculate a position, the following procedure is used:
- A signal is transmitted skyward by a remote terminal.
- Each of the geostationary satellites receive the signal.
- Each satellite sends the accurate time of when each received the signal to a ground station.
- The ground station calculates the longitude and latitude of the remote terminal, and determines the altitude from a relief map.
- The ground station sends the remote terminal's 3D position to the satellites.
- The satellites broadcast the calculated position to the remote terminal.
Additionally, the terminal can communicate with the ground station by sending and receiving short messages.
[edit] Future Plans (Beidou-2 or Compass)
The two satellites (1A,1B) mentioned above were designed as experimental satellites; China has yet to build the remaining satellites to make Beidou an operational global positioning utility.
The new system will be a constellation of 35 satellites, which include 5 geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites and 30 medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, that will offer complete coverage of the globe. There will be two levels of service provided; free service for those in China, and licensed service for the military.
- The free service will have a 10 meter location-tracking accuracy, will synchronize clocks with an accuracy of 50 ns, and measure speeds within 0.2 m/s.
- The licensed service will be more accurate than the free service, can be used for communication, and will supply information about the system status to the users.
Two satellites for Beidou 2 have been launched in early 2007. In the next few years, China plans to continue experimentation and setup system operations.
[edit] References
- ^ Pike, John. "Beidou (Big Dipper)". Space. GlobalSecurity.org. http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/world/china/beidou.htm. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
- ^ "Compass due Next Year" (in English). Magazine article. Asian Surveying and Mapping. May 04, 2009. http://www.asmmag.com/news/compass-due-next-year. Retrieved on 2009-05-05.
- ^ "China joins EU's satellite network". Business News (BBC News). 2003-09-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3121682.stm. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
- ^ "2nd Galileo Satellite Up" (in English). Magazine article. Asian Surveying and Mapping. May 1, 2008. http://www.asmmag.com/news/2nd-galileo-satellite-up. Retrieved on 2009-05-05.
- ^ Marks, Paul. "China's satellite navigation plans threaten Galileo". NewScientist.com. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10472-chinas-satellite-navigation-plans-threaten-galileo.html. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
- ^ Beidou navigation system first goes to public, with resolution 0.5 metre (from official Xinhua News Agency), with photos
- ^ http://mytv.tvb.com/news/newsat630/21588 CCTV, Xinwen Lianbo April 15th 2009
- ^ International Navigation Satellite Systems
[edit] External links
- BDstar Navigation
- Beidou (Big Dipper) - GlobalSecurity.org
- Aviation International News
- BeiDou-1 - SinoDefence.com
- BeiDou-2 - SinoDefence.com
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