The China Satellite Navigation System Management Office (CNSO) has reportedly revealed its roadmap to upgrade China's Beidou positioning and navigation system by 2035 by adding next-generation LEO satellites to the mix.
The roadmap, released by CNSO on Thursday, calls for key technology research for the next-gen Beidou system to be wrapped up by the end of next year, after which three test satellites will be launched in 2027, according to a report from the official Xinhua News Agency.
If the tests go well, launches for the actual Beidou LEO satellites will commence in 2029, with the entire constellation in place by 2035. The roadmap also outlines the establishment of an integrated ground system “to ensure resource flexibility, data sharing, and continuous operations”, the report said.
The current generation of the Beidou constellation (known as BDS-3) features 30 satellites: 24 medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites and three geostationary satellites, plus another three satellites in inclined geosynchronous orbits. Including the previous two generations, Beidou had a total of 44 satellites in operation as of the end of 2023.
Beidou’s deputy chief designer Xie Jun told state media outlet Global Times that the existing constellation would serve as the core for the upgraded system featuring the new LEO satellites.
Xie also said that adding LEO satellites will give Beidou faster positioning speeds and better accuracy. Neither state media report mentioned how many LEO satellites will be added to the Beidou constellation.
China has been lobbying developing countries under its Belt and Road Initiative to adopt Beidou as a superior alternative to the more popular (and aging) GPS system operated by the US – not least for its unique multi-orbit design and its ability to support SMS.
Various state media reports claim that China has signed Beidou cooperation agreements with Russia, Pakistan, Belarus, Egypt and South Africa, among others, with recent efforts focused on Africa and the Middle East. The Global Times report claims Beidou products are currently exported to over 140 countries and regions.
Meanwhile, the US has been looking to add a LEO component to its geostationary GPS constellation, primarily as a backup network.
In September, the US Space Force (USSF) awarded contracts to Axient, L3 Harris Sierra Space and Astranis to develop competing designs for its Resilient Global Positioning System (R-GPS) programme, which seeks to deploy smaller and cheaper satellites to add resiliency to the existing GPS constellation. The winning designer(s) will be contracted to build an initial fleet of eight satellites scheduled for launch in 2028, according to Space News.