China launches navigation satellites
Posted: Wed, Sep 19, 2012, 1:13 PM ET (1713 GMT)
A Chinese rocket launched two navigation satellites into orbit on Wednesday. The Long March 3B lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China at 3:10 pm EDT Tuesday (1910 GMT Tuesday, 3:10 am Beijing time Wednesday) and placed two Beidou satellites into orbit. The two satellites, designated Compass-M5 and M6, were put into medium Earth orbits by the rocket, with altitudes of about 21,500 kilometers. The satellites are the latest to join China'a Beidou satellite navigation system, which provides services to China and surrounding territory today and with plans to provide global coverage, similar to the American GPS and Russian GLONASS systems, by the end of the decade.
A Chinese rocket launched two navigation satellites into orbit on Wednesday. The Long March 3B lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China at 3:10 pm EDT Tuesday (1910 GMT Tuesday, 3:10 am Beijing time Wednesday) and placed two Beidou satellites into orbit. The two satellites, designated Compass-M5 and M6, were put into medium Earth orbits by the rocket, with altitudes of about 21,500 kilometers. The satellites are the latest to join China'a Beidou satellite navigation system, which provides services to China and surrounding territory today and with plans to provide global coverage, similar to the American GPS and Russian GLONASS systems, by the end of the decade.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, June 17
The flare star WX UMa becomes 15 times brighter in less than 3 minutes
SINC — 10:47 pm ET (0247 GMT) The University of Alicante finds the first evidence of a new phase in neutron stars
AlphaGalileo — 10:47 pm ET (0247 GMT) Visit indiegogo and Support the Scott Carpenter Station Restoration Mission
Space Foundation — 10:44 pm ET (0244 GMT) Astronomers use precision pulsar positions to break record
ASTRON — 10:42 pm ET (0242 GMT) Cosmic Giants Shed New Light on Dark Matter
Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe — 10:42 pm ET (0242 GMT) |
