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The last satellite of the BeiDou-3 network was due to launch in southwest China on Tuesday. Photo: CCTV

Delay to launch of final satellite in China’s BeiDou navigation network

  • Technical problems discovered with the Long March 3B rocket carrier during a routine pre-launch check
  • Developing the BeiDou system reflects China’s drive to end its reliance on Western technologies, analyst says
Space

China delayed launching the last of the BeiDou-3 satellites into orbit after finding “technical problems” in the rocket carrier, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

The problems were discovered during a routine check before lift-off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, in the southwestern province of Sichuan. Xinhua did not give details of the cause.

The carrier for the launch – which was scheduled for around 10.30am on Tuesday depending on the weather – was the Long March 3B rocket, China’s main rocket for putting communications satellites into orbit.

The launch pad where the final satellite of China’s BeiDou system was supposed to launch in Sichuan province. Photo: Reuters

The satellite is the final and 30th of the third generation of the BeiDou navigation system, China’s answer to the Global Positioning System (GPS), which is owned by the United States government and is run by the US Air Force. The development of BeiDou began in the 1990s when China’s military recognised a need to build a navigation system independent of GPS.

According to Alex Joske, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Cyber Policy Centre, a completed constellation would help in China’s pursuit of independent navigation technology.

“The greater self-reliance that a fully fledged BeiDou system would give China, and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in particular, [is] a reflection of the Communist Party’s ongoing drive to decouple itself from Western critical technologies,” he said.

He added that BeiDou would be essential if China were ever denied access to GPS, and would expand the Chinese government’s international engagement because other countries could start using Chinese instead of US technology.

01:20

China’s Beidou satellite navigation system: a rival to US-built GPS?

China’s Beidou satellite navigation system: a rival to US-built GPS?

Beijing has invested heavily in BeiDou, which is Mandarin for the stars that make up the Big Dipper or Plough constellation.

BeiDou’s development was spurred by an “unforgettable humiliation” in the PLA in 1996, when the military lost track of two missiles during an exercise aimed at curtailing a perceived move towards independence by the self-ruled island of Taiwan. Military analysis afterwards suggested the missile failures could have been caused by GPS disruptions.

Joske said Chinese guided missiles could be rendered useless during a conflict if they relied heavily on GPS for navigation.

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The first of the BeiDou satellites launched in 2000 and, now using its third generation of satellite, the system has expanded from mainly military use to include large-scale commercial applications.

Its features have been built into many popular smartphones, with processor chips such as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon and Huawei’s Kirin using the technology along with GPS and sometimes the European Galileo and Russian Glonass systems. In addition, Beijing has ordered all passenger buses, heavy trucks and fishing boats to install BeiDou terminals for real-time transport, location and logistic needs.

So far, 58 BeiDou satellites have been sent into orbit. The four first-generation satellites were all retired by the end of 2012. The system’s second generation, operational from 2011, initially covered China before expanding across the Asia-Pacific region with 20 satellites.

In 2015, China began launching the third generation of 30 operational satellites to allow global coverage, along with five experimental satellites.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Technical glitch delays last Beidou satellite launch
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