The Chinese satellite navigation system "Beidou" is preparing to squeeze the American GPS in the world market. As of September 2019, China has deployed 42 navigation satellites in space, 34 of which are used for their intended purpose. Given the support from the Russian satellite navigation system GLONASS and the problems of the European navigation system Galileo, which was shut down for several days in July 2019, it is the Chinese system Beidou that is considered the only navigation system capable of challenging the United States.
About the satellite navigation system "Beidou"
China started thinking about its own satellite navigation system back in 1983. The first experimental test of the concept of the system, which used only two satellites in geostationary orbits, took place in 1989. Five years later, in 1994, the first stage of the deployment of the Chinese satellite navigation system, called "Beidou", in translation from the Chinese "Northern Bucket" (as the PRC calls the constellation Ursa Major, familiar to everyone), began. The development of the system proceeded gradually, the first generation of Beidou-1 satellites was commissioned in 2003. There were only three satellites, all of them have already been removed from the Earth's orbit. The Beidou-1 system was a continuation of the experiment at a new technological level.
The second implemented system, Beidou-2, was already fully operational, but provided only regional positioning. The main purpose of this satellite system was to provide reliable coverage of the entire territory of the PRC, as well as adjacent Asian states. The system was deployed from 2004 to 2012. In total, during this time, China launched 14 navigation satellites into space, of which five satellites were located in geostationary and inclined geosynchronous orbits, and the remaining four satellites in medium orbits. The deployed satellite constellation was compatible with devices of the Beidou-1 system. For China and Chinese astronautics, this was a significant step forward. By the end of 2012, the country was able to provide users in the Asia-Pacific region with access to services for determining the exact location, time, speed, etc. Most of these satellites are still in service.
The third stage in the development of the Chinese satellite navigation system was named Beidou-3. This system is already positioned as a global one. It is Beidou-3 that will directly compete with the American GPS, European Galileo and the Russian GLONASS system. China expects to complete the deployment of the system by 2020, deploying a constellation of 35 spacecraft of three types. The Beidou-3 system will have 27 Beidou-M satellites in medium circular orbit, five Beidou-G satellites in geostationary orbit and three more Beidou-IGSO satellites in geosynchronous inclined high orbits.
The listed satellites are built on two main platforms: DFH-3B (operate in medium earth orbit), DFH-3 / 3B (operate in geostationary and geosynchronous inclined orbit). A distinctive feature of the satellites is a rather long service life. A high-quality element base allows the former to work in space for about 12 years, and the latter up to 15 years. It is worth noting that the Beidou-2 satellites launched into space in 2009 are still in working order. In this respect, the Chinese satellites outperform the Glonass-M vehicles with an active service life of 7 years and Glonass-K with an active service life of 10 years. At the same time, the oldest operating Russian satellites of the GLONASS system have been in orbit since 2006.
Beidou plus GLONASS
Back in 2015, a Russian-Chinese committee was created to implement a project on cooperation in the field of satellite navigation, which is important for both countries. The committee was created by Roscosmos and the Chinese Navigation System Commission. One of the main directions of the committee's work is to ensure the compatibility and complementarity of the navigation systems of the two countries, as well as cooperation in the application of navigation technologies. Russian-Chinese cooperation in this matter meets the strategic interaction between the two states.
From 28 to 30 August 2019, a regular meeting of the Russian-Chinese Committee on Satellite Navigation was held in the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. The meeting was devoted to the discussion of various aspects of interaction between the national navigation satellite systems GLONASS and BeiDou, according to the official website of Roscosmos. One of the participants in the meeting was Sergei Revnivykh, who holds the post of Deputy General Director of Information Satellite Systems, which manufactures Russian GLONASS satellites. The members of the group on ensuring the complementarity and compatibility of the two navigation systems presented the results of the analysis, which confirmed the radio frequency compatibility of the signals from the Russian GLONASS system and the Chinese BeiDou. The specialists of the two countries concluded that the signals of the two satellite navigation systems can be used by Russian and Chinese consumers without interfering with each other. In addition, engineers from the two countries have confirmed that the Beidou and GLONASS satellite constellations deployed in Earth orbit are compatible. The danger of a collision of Russian and Chinese navigation satellites in earth orbit is completely excluded.
It is also worth noting that in July 2019, the State Duma of the Russian Federation ratified an agreement between the governments of the two countries in the field of cooperation and the use of global navigation satellite systems for peaceful purposes, the exchange of experience in the field of civilian use of satellite navigation systems, the development of navigation technologies using Beidou systems and GLONASS. The very agreement on cooperation in the use of the navigation systems BeiDou and GLONASS was signed on November 7, 2018 in the Chinese capital as part of the 23rd regular meeting of the heads of government of the two states. According to Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Government Maxim Akimov, by the end of 2019 a document should be approved regulating the placement of measuring stations in Russia and China.
The measuring stations of the two systems, which are to appear on the territory of China and the Russian Federation, will allow satellite navigation systems to operate on the territory of the two states. The document, ratified by the State Duma of the Russian Federation, also presupposes cooperation between the two countries in the field of creation and serial production of civil navigation equipment using the Beidou and GLONASS systems. The process of developing Russian-Chinese standards for the use of navigation technologies that both systems use is also discussed separately. For example, standards for the control and management of traffic flows that cross the border of two countries. As reported by the Interfax agency, the residents of the two countries will receive navigation data from the GLONASS and Beidou systems free of charge. The implementation of the agreements reached will make it possible for users from China to use Beidou services in Russia and to receive GLONASS navigation services in China.
Perspectives of the "Beidou" system
China, which claims to be one of the world's main superpowers and has already officially become the world's largest economy, pays a lot of attention to rivalry with the United States. Obviously, this rivalry will intensify in space, where the PRC is currently implementing a number of ambitious projects, joining in a new lunar race. There is no doubt that soon we will see the rivalry of the Chinese satellite navigation system "Beidou" with the American global positioning system GPS, which is widely used all over the world.
The Chinese press is already writing that the American system will have to make room. Indeed, the Chinese navigation system is newer, the PRC's orbital constellation is larger, and cooperation with Russia on satellite navigation will make the Chinese system even more accurate. The real cooperation between Russia and the PRC in the field of satellite navigation, which we have been observing in recent years, will indeed become a challenge for the American GPS system, which for a long time practically did not face real competition in the international market. The European Galileo satellite system in China is not seriously considered, largely due to the recent large-scale disruption that occurred in July 2019, when all satellites of the system were out of order for several days, and users could not receive a signal from spacecraft. In fact, a large-scale failure for Galileo is a very unpleasant thing, but not as critical as a possible failure of GPS or GLONASS, since, unlike the latter two, the European navigation system is not controlled by the military.
At the same time, the United States is unlikely to give up a segment of the international satellite navigation market without a fight. Washington has long been working to develop its global positioning system. On October 1, 2019, the press service of the American corporation Raytheon issued a statement on the completion of the process of creating a new generation GPS satellite navigation and communication system. According to the company, the launch of a new generation of the system should take place in 2021. Raytheon said that the hardware and software for the new system has already been developed, and it has received the designation GPS OCX. The company's specialists have started the testing phase, as well as integration with the equipment of the already deployed global positioning system.
