A model of China's Beidou Navigation System terminal is on display at Xinjiang International Exhibition Center in July. (Photo : www.chinadaily.com.cn)
China has released a national plan on Thursday, Oct. 29, showing that the country is determined to finish building its satellite systems for remote sensing, communications and navigation before 2020, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
According to the long-term development plan for civil space infrastructure posted on the website of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, the three satellite systems will be built to provide continuous and stable service.
Under the plan, China is expected to build civil space infrastructure that uses cutting-edge technology, independent development and control, and reasonable distribution and global coverage.
The plan said that the three systems must meet demands for different industries and regions and provide support for China's modernization drive, as well as ensure national security and improve people's lives.
The report said that the country is expected to provide diversified, high-quality and reliable services to different industries through the combined use of satellites from different systems or constellations.
The plan added that the priority of the remote-sensing satellite systems would be on development of land, ocean and atmospheric observation satellites with seven different satellite constellations.
The system will meet the demands of various fields, which include monitoring land and ocean resources, agriculture, traffic, environmental protection, disaster relief and weather forecasts, the report added.
On the other hand, broadband Internet, mobile telecommunications and live television broadcasts will be provided by the communications satellite system.
The plan furthered that China also aims to improve the service capabilities of its Beidou Navigation Satellite System, a local alternative to U.S.-operated GPS.
China also plans to set up a complete Beidou system made up of 35 satellites by 2020 to provide global coverage that has positioning accuracy of less than 10 meters and timing accuracy of 20 nanoseconds.
The country will also intensify research to keep abreast with world-class technology and promote the use of domestic satellite systems.
