Image: Xinhua News Agency
China has launched two satellites into medium-Earth orbits (MEO) for its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, according to the China Satellite Navigation Office.
The satellites were carried by a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province and are the 13th group of third-generation BeiDou satellites operating in MEO.
The two spacecraft will start formal operation after a period of in-orbit technical verification, according to the China Satellite Navigation Office.
BeiDou is China’s largest civilian satellite system and one of four global navigation networks, along with the United States GPS, Russia’s GLONASS and the European Union’s Galileo.
Since 2000, a total of 62 BeiDou satellites, including the first four experimental ones, have been lifted on 46 Long March 3 series rockets from Xichang.
In June 2020, the final satellite to complete Beidou’s third-generation network was lifted by a Long March 3B rocket launched from the Xichang center. The following month, the system was declared complete and began providing full-scale global services.
Nearly 50 Beidou satellites in active service, including the latest pair.