Chinese Long March Rocket Orbits Fifth Compass-G Satellite
By Jeffrey Hill | February 27, 2012
[Satellite TODAY 02-27-12] China has successfully launched its fifth Compass-G satellite into orbit onboard a Long March 3C rocket from the C2 launch complex of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Chinese space officials announced Feb. 24.
The Compass Navigation Satellite System (CNSS) is China’s second-generation satellite navigation system, which aims to provide continuous, real-time passive 3-D geospatial positioning services. The system comprises of five Compass-G, five Compass-IGSO and four Compass-M satellites
The previous Compass satellite, Compass-I5/BeiDou-2, was launched on the Long March rocket in December 2011. By 2020, China hopes to develop a global navigation satellite network constellation of 35 vehicles that will operate similarly to the U.S. GPS network and Russia’s Glonass system by 2020.