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China debuts Beidou as GPS alternative, global coverage by 2020
For over a decade, China has been developing its own world-wide positioning system in hopes of simultaneously distancing itself from foreign dependence and providing an alternative to GPS. China announced that this month's satellite launch marks the first time their positioning network has started offering navigational data.
Beijing has named their GPS-alternative "Beidou", a Chinese word which represents a constellation known colloquially to most English-speaking Westerners as the "Big Dipper" or the "Plough".
Beidou is currently comprised of 10 satellites but covers "only" most of continental Asia. In its current state, the network is slightly less accurate than GPS but aims to close that gap with additional satellites. China plans to extend Beidou's orbital network to a grand total of 35 satellites by 2020, ultimately achieving total global coverage with GPS-like precision. Six of those satellites will be launched next year.
Beidou is said to be freely, publicly and globally available just as GPS continues to be. Much like GPS though, access to Beidou can be limited at any time by the government which operates it.
Despite China's excitement, GPS alternatives are not unheard of. Russia has been operating GLONASS, its own global positioning system, for some time. However, in the face of tumultuous economic and political issues during the late 90s, GLONASS began to fall into disrepair. Thanks to Russia's renewed commitment to maintain the project though, the country recently caught the eye of Apple. Yes, the iPhone 4S uses GLONASS satellites to supplement GPS coverage. The Russian-born system has been and continues to be featured in a growing number of devices across the world and as of 2010, claims 100% global coverage.
Although still in its early stages, Europe also has its own satellite navigation system planned. The Galileo positioning system had its first satellite launched this year and is set to be finished by 2019. The network aims to be a highly accurate, dual-band alternative to American GPS and can be used to supplement or replace other navigational networks.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is working on improving its existing GPS network to GPS III, a faster, more precise and more powerful version of the already ubiquitous standard. The first upgrades are slated to be launched in 2014.
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User Comments (12)
Post a comment|
Guest
on December 27, 2011 7:32 PM |
....why? why throw billions of $$$$$ into making your own form of GPS when the US has 1 just as good.. |
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Guest
on December 27, 2011 7:52 PM |
They don't trust us, so do we 0.o |
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Guest
on December 27, 2011 7:54 PM |
So they dont need to rely on the US.... also the US can shut down there GPS if they wanted to, which im assuming the Chinese want a guarantee of themselves. *cough* Military action *cough* any who they got **** load of money so they can throw as much as they want. |
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Guest
on December 27, 2011 8:35 PM |
I would like to solute all you Americans for sending 90% of your jobs to China. Furthermore, I'll solute you once more for purchasing 90% of, well, everything, from China. Thank you for supporting a Communist country; even though you had lived 50 years in terror due to the commies. |
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Guest
on December 27, 2011 9:21 PM |
Salute you mean? |
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Ranger1st
on December 27, 2011 9:58 PM |
Seriously does no one see that all of this crap being pulled by China is simply systems to support independent military actions globally? Follows on the heels of the Chinese hackers setting up system failures across the globe with the years of hacking they've been doing. paranoia ? maybe, but it's exactly what 'we' talk about in the field when ' worse case ' scenarios are discussed.. and a paranoid is rarely caught by surprise. |
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Guest
on December 28, 2011 2:02 AM |
You are right but what are you doing about it? |
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Archean
on December 28, 2011 2:03 AM |
Guest said: ....why? why throw billions of $$$$$ into making your own form of GPS when the US has 1 just as good.. Don't forget Europeans are also developing their own system so they too no longer have to be dependent on US ................ |
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bugejakurt
on December 28, 2011 2:06 AM |
This is great and bad news: Great: because it induces competition. Bad: because more satellites orbit around the earth. |
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veLa
on December 28, 2011 3:22 AM |
My Galaxy S2 has GPS and I think that's what I'm going to stick with. |
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StrayEagle
on December 28, 2011 7:38 AM |
veLa said: My Galaxy S2 has GPS and I think that's what I'm going to stick with. /facepalm.... |
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Guest
on December 29, 2011 3:33 PM |
"My Galaxy S2 has GPS and I think that's what I'm going to stick with." Seems like you're mixing something up here. All your phone is doing is using the GPS infrastructure that is developed by the Americans. China does not want to rely on that infrastructure as they want to be independent (and also have total control over the system themselves) so they developed an alternative system for their use. Either way you're never going to use their systems anyway so... I'm still confuse as to what you're trying to say. |
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