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China targeting navigation system's global coverage by 2020
BEIJING, Mar 03, 2013 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --
China's homegrown navigation
system BeiDou is expected to achieve full-scale global coverage by
around 2020, a leading scientist told Xinhua on Sunday.
The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) will then be able
to provide highly accurate and reliable positioning, navigation
and timing service with the aid of a constellation of 35
satellites, said Ye Peijian, chief commander of Chang'e-3, China's
lunar probe mission.
"So far, China has successfully launched 16 navigation
satellites and four other experimental ones for BDS," Ye said.
China started to build up its own space-based Positioning,
Navigation and Timing system in 2000 by launching the first
satellite for an experimental version of the BeiDou.
BeiDou has since started providing licensed services for
China's government and military users in transport, weather
forecasts, fishing, forestry, telecommunications, hydrological
monitoring and mapping.
However, it is estimated that more than 95 percent of
navigation terminals sold in China are GPS terminals.
To compete with foreign rivals, the BeiDou terminal can
communicate with the ground station by sending and receiving short
messages, 120 Chinese characters in each, in addition to the
navigation and timing functions that the world's other major
navigation systems can provide.
BeiDou aims to take 70 to 80 percent of the now GPS-dominated
domestic market by 2020, a spokesman for the system said in
December.
"We hope that the industries based on BDS will hold 15 to 20
percent of the market share by 2015," said BDS spokesman Ran
Chengqi, who is also director of the China Satellite Navigation
Office.
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