All core components of Beidou-3 are domestically produced.

The picture shows visitors watching a model of the Beidou Satellite Navigation System. Photographed by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ju Huanzong.

The picture shows a large lightship equipped with a Beidou navigation beacon telemetry and remote control device in the Dan'gan Channel of the Pearl River Estuary. Photographed by Xinhua News Agency reporter Tian Jianchuan.

Recently, the Beidou-3 Global Satellite Navigation System was officially commissioned, marking the successful completion of Beidou's 'three-step' development strategy and ushering Beidou into a new era of global service.

On August 3, the State Council Information Office held a press conference, where relevant experts introduced the completion and commissioning of the Beidou-3 Global Satellite Navigation System.

What's so great about Beidou-3?

The construction of Beidou-3 began in November 2009. Over the past 10 years, the project has gone through five stages: key technology breakthroughs, experimental satellite engineering, minimal system, basic system, and complete system. It completed global constellation deployment half a year ahead of schedule and commissioned full system services. Built and then commissioned, commissioned and then served.

Ran Chengqi, Director of the China Satellite Navigation System Management Office and spokesperson for the Beidou Satellite Navigation System, introduced several highlights of the project.

First, key core technologies have been overcome, achieving independent and controllable capabilities. It is understood that more than 400 organizations and over 300,000 scientific and technological personnel have collaborated to tackle more than 160 key core technologies, such as inter-satellite links and high-precision atomic clocks, and have achieved localization of over 500 types of components and parts, realizing a 100% localization rate for core components of Beidou-3 satellites.

Second, leveraging the advantages of the national system, networking was completed efficiently. By strengthening centralized and unified leadership, building strong overall project and two-chief development teams, and using overall design, technology, quality, and progress as standards, an innovative development and construction system was created. The development cycle for a single satellite was shortened by one-quarter, the assembly cycle for launch vehicles by one-third, and the satellite networking cycle by three-quarters. A risk analysis and control assurance chain has been established, ensuring launches without hidden dangers and missions without uncertainties.

At the same time, the system is powerful. Beidou-3 has two major functions: navigation and positioning, and communication and data transmission. It can provide 7 types of services: positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), global short message communication, regional short message communication, international search and rescue, satellite-based augmentation, ground-based augmentation, and precise point positioning. It is a powerful global satellite navigation system. The interface control documents released by the Beidou system cover all 7 types of services.

Furthermore, the performance indicators are advanced. Global positioning accuracy is better than 10 meters, velocity measurement accuracy is better than 0.2 meters/second, timing accuracy is better than 20 nanoseconds, and service availability is better than 99%, with even better performance in the Asia-Pacific region.

Beidou applications have great potential.

The two distinctive services of the Beidou system are short message service and high-precision applications. Currently, Beidou-3's short message service has been enhanced to 14,000 bits per message (1000 Chinese characters), allowing for image and voice transmission. With the help of global inter-satellite links, it has also expanded to enable global short messages. Simultaneously, relying on the Beidou system, a high-precision augmentation network has been built on the ground, with nearly 3000 ground stations within China, capable of real-time processing to centimeter-level accuracy and post-processing to millimeter-level high precision.

Ran Chengqi introduced that the Beidou system has comprehensively served industries such as transportation, public security, disaster relief and mitigation, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries, and urban governance, and has been integrated into the construction of national core infrastructure like electricity, finance, and telecommunications.

"28nm process chips are already in mass production, and 22nm process chips are about to be mass-produced. Most smartphones support Beidou functions, and phones supporting Beidou ground-based augmented high-precision applications are already on the market," said Ran Chengqi. He added that a complete industrial chain integrating chips, modules, boards, terminals, and operational services has been established. Over the past 10 years, the total output value of China's satellite navigation and location services industry has grown by more than 20% annually, reaching 345 billion yuan in 2019, and is expected to exceed 400 billion yuan in 2020. Beidou has been applied in areas such as China-Europe freight train transportation, construction and operation of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway, and civil aviation. Beidou-based high-precision services have played an active role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and southern floods, and are accelerating entry into new infrastructure, deeply integrating with new technologies such as next-generation communication, blockchain, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence. New models, formats, and economies of Beidou applications are continuously emerging.

Globally, Beidou is one of the four global satellite navigation systems recognized by the United Nations. Its compatibility and interoperability with the satellite navigation systems of the United States, Russia, and the European Union, as well as inter-system cooperation, continue to deepen. It has successively joined multiple international organizations such as civil aviation, maritime, search and rescue satellites, and mobile communications, and several international standards supporting the Beidou system have been published. Currently, Beidou-related products have been exported to over 120 countries and regions, providing services to more than hundreds of millions of users.

How will the Beidou system develop in the future?

Ran Chengqi introduced, "After the completion of Beidou-3, we have already started the construction and development of the next generation of Beidou."

Applications are the starting point and ultimate goal of Beidou system construction. Chips – 'China Core' is, of course, the most critical part of the system. Currently, all links in the Beidou industrial chain, including chips, boards, and antennas, have achieved mass production. The government needs to continue to create a good environment and provide favorable policies to encourage Chinese enterprises to further improve the Beidou industrial chain.

"Before 2035, we will build a more ubiquitous, integrated, and intelligent national comprehensive positioning, navigation, and timing system, providing core support for future intelligent and unmanned development, continuously promoting system upgrades, integrating emerging technologies such as next-generation communication and low-orbit augmentation, vigorously developing new capabilities like quantum navigation and all-source navigation, and constructing a spatiotemporal information service infrastructure that covers sky, land, and sea, with unified benchmarks, high precision, high intelligence, high security, and high efficiency," said Ran Chengqi. (Reporter Liu Siyao)

People's Daily Overseas Edition (August 04, 2020, Page 02)