China to Launch 7th Beidou Satellite

China to Launch 7th Beidou SatelliteBeijing, Dec. 17. -China will launch its seventh Beidou navigation satellite in the coming days as it continues forming its global positioning network, Compass.

Local news reports on Thursday quoted sources from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province as saying that the Beidou satellite would be launched on a Long March-3A carrier rocket.

The satellite is expected to join six other satellites now in orbit to form a network that will eventually consist of 35 satellites.

That global positioning system is designed to provide navigation services to the Asia and Pacific region in 2010 and will be capable of providing global navigation services by 2020.

With important economic and social benefits, China currently uses this technology in cartography, telecommunications, fishing, traffic, environment, urban planning, and public security, among other areas. (Prensa Latina)