spacetoday.net: China launches Beidou satellite, completes constellation

Posted: Fri, Jun 26, 2020, 5:06 PM ET (2106 GMT)
Long March 3B launch of Beidou satellite, June 2020 (CASC)

China launched a Beidou spacecraft Monday night, completing the country's satellite navigation system. A Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 9:43 pm EDT (0143 GMT, 9:43 am Beijing time Tuesday) and placed a Beidou-3 satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The launch was scheduled for a week earlier but postponed because of an issue with the rocket's third stage. The new satellite will complete the Beidou navigation and positioning system, consisting of 27 satellites in medium Earth orbit, five in geostationary orbit and three more in inclined geosynchronous orbits. Beidou will now provide global service like GPS, Russia's Glonass and Europe's Galileo systems.