NEWS CENTER

At 19:55 on March 9, China successfully launched the 54th navigation satellite of the Beidou system with the Long March 3B carrier rocket at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The satellite has successfully entered the predetermined orbit, and will undergo orbit change, in orbit testing, experimental evaluation, and timely network access to provide services

The construction of the Beidou system has gone through three stages: the Beidou-1 system, the Beidou-2 system, and the Beidou-3 system. Currently, all four experimental satellites of Beidou-1 have been retired. Starting from the first satellite of Beidou-2, China has launched 54 Beidou navigation satellites, which is only one step away from the completion of the Beidou-3 system

The Beidou-3 system consists of 24 medium circular Earth orbits, 3 geostationary orbits, and 3 tilted geosynchronous orbits, with a total of 30 satellites. This launch is the 29th networked satellite and also the second geostationary orbit satellite. This type of satellite plays a key role in characteristic services such as satellite base enhancement, short message communication, and precise single point positioning. In May, a geostationary orbit satellite will be launched as planned. At that time, the deployment of the global constellation of Beidou-3 will be fully completed

The Beidou navigation satellite and supporting launch vehicle launched this time were respectively developed by the China Academy of Space Technology and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, affiliated to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. This is the 327th flight of the Long March system carrier rocket