China launched a new member
of its budding satellite navigation system Tuesday, the first of up to 10 such
spacecraft scheduled to be added by the end of next year.
The Compass G2 satellite
blasted off at 1616 GMT (12:16 p.m. EDT) from the Xichang launch base in
southwestern China's Sichuan province, the state-run Xinhua news agency
reported.
A Long March 3C booster
deployed the navigation satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit with a
high point of about 22,250 miles, a low point of about 125 miles and an
inclination of 20.5 degrees, according to tracking data.
Compass G2 will soon use
its own propulsion system to reach a circular orbit along the equator at an
altitude of about 22,300 miles.
The new spacecraft is the second
satellite of China's second-generation
navigation fleet, which will eventually include more than 30 satellites
parked in geostationary and medium-altitude orbits, according to Xinhua.
China launched the first
Compass satellite bound for a medium-altitude orbit two years ago. Compass G2
is the first geostationary satellite of the group.
The fleet will beam precise
position, altitude and time information to users on the ground.
Up to 10 more Compass
satellites could be launched by the end of next year, according to Xinhua.
Officials predict the
Compass system will be completed by 2015 to provide global navigation coverage,
supplanting the U.S. Global Positioning System in Chinese cars, cell phones and
other commercial applications.
Other applications for the
system include transportation, meteorology, petroleum prospecting, forest fire
monitoring, disaster response, telecommunications and public security,
according to Xinhua.
The first-generation Beidou
constellation provides only regional coverage over China, according to
Xinhua.
Tuesday's flight was
China's first space launch of 2009 and the 18th launch worldwide to reach orbit
this year.
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