China launched its second
satellite in less than three days Friday when a Long March 3A rocket
successfully delivered a navigation craft into orbit.
Liftoff of China's fifth
navigation satellite was at 2011
GMT Friday (4:11 p.m. EDT) from the Xichang launch center in southwest China's
Sichuan province, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
The unannounced launch was
in the early morning hours of Saturday, local time.
The three-stage Long March
3A rocket left its payload in an egg-shaped transfer orbit with an inclination
of 55 degrees. The spacecraft will soon use its propulsion system to
circularize the orbit at an altitude of about 13,000 miles (20,921 kilometers).
Chinese media reports said
the satellite is part of the nation's Compass space-based navigation system,
which aims to provide precise location, velocity and timing information to
users.
State media did not name
the satellite launched Friday, but earlier members of the Compass constellation
were called Beidou, which means Big Dipper when translated in English.
The system is similar to
the U.S. Global Positioning System and other navigation satellite fleets in
development by Russia and the European Union.
The Compass system will
consist of five satellites orbiting in the geostationary belt some 22,000 miles
above Earth, and 30 more craft circling the planet in a medium orbit, according
to earlier Xinhua reports.
Previous Beidou satellites
were placed in geostationary orbit, but Friday's launch delivered the first
Compass satellite to medium Earth orbit.
More satellites will join
the Compass fleet in the next few years, and officials expect the system will
provide navigation data to China and neighboring countries by next year.
Subsequent launches will then expand the system's coverage globally, Xinhua
said.
Friday's launch was the
third of the year for China. The newest Beidou satellite was put in space in
February, and a marine
surveying spacecraft was orbited Wednesday.
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