Combined photo taken on July 25, 2015 shows the Long March-3B/Yuanzheng-1 rocket carrying two new-generation satellites for the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) blasting off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwest China's Sichuan Province. China successfully launched two satellites for its indigenous global navigation and positioning network at 8:29 p.m. Beijing Time Saturday, the launch center said.

Photos are courtesy of Xinhua/Zhu Zheng.

[SatNews] China launched two new satellites on July 25 for the country's homegrown rival to the U.S.'s GPS system, known as the Beidou Navigation Satellite System.

A Long March-3B/Yuanzheng-1 rocket carrying two new-generation satellites for the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwest China's Sichuan Province, July 25, 2015. China successfully launched two satellites for its indigenous global navigation and positioning network at 8:29 p.m. Beijing Time Saturday, the launch center said.

Photo is courtesy of Xinhua/Zhu Zheng.

The successful launch marks another solid step in building Beidou into a navigation system with global coverage.The satellites were launched Saturday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southern China. They are the 18th and 19th to join the satellite navigation system. The two satellites reached their target orbits 3-1/2 hours after the launch. They will be used to test a new type of navigation signaling and inter-satellite links, and also provide navigation services.



China launched the first Beidou satellite in 2000. The system began providing services to civilian users in China and surrounding areas in the Asia-Pacific in December 2012.

Story is courtesy of CCTV.com.