China's satellite navigation has a promising future

China's Global Satellite Navigation Plan has emerged since Xichang Satellites Lunch Center successfully lunched a "Beidou" navigation satellite on April 14 this year.

The satellite navigation positioning is a newly emerging technology, which positions, navigates and monitors all kinds of targets by using the location, speed and time information provided by global satellite navigation and positioning system. Satellite navigation system plays an important strategic role in national security and economic construction.

As a global satellite navigation system with China's independent intellectual property rights, Beidou Navigation Satellite consists of 5 geostationary orbit satellites and 30 non-geostationary orbit satellites; the construction of the whole system will be completed before 2010. The system is expected to satisfy the demands for satellite navigation system of users in China and neighboring countries at that time, and it will be gradually developed into global satellite navigation system. The Beidou navigation satellite launched a month ago, namely COMPASS-M1, is one of the "5+30" system.

Huge potential for navigation industry

Part of industrial users in China are benefiting from "Beidou-1" satellite navigation test system, which has been put into operation. Since 2000, which represented the beginning of the prophase trial of Beidou Navigation Satellite System, China has successfully launched two "Beidou-1" operation satellites and one backup satellite successively, and has built "Beidou-1" Satellite Navigation Test System. Up until now, China has become the third country in the world that owns satellite navigation system following Russia and the USA.

Compared with satellite navigation and positioning systems of other countries, except for equivalent accuracy to GPS in fast positioning and accurate timing, "Beidou-1" also has an advanced and unique short message communication function. Now the System is offering highly efficient navigation and positioning services to national economic construction such as communication and transportation, meteorology, petroleum, ocean, forest, telecommunications, public security and other special industries.

In spite of the own technology characteristics of "Beidou-1", GPS is still monopolizing satellite navigation service market, especially over 95 percent of public service market, because China's independent satellite navigation system started relatively late. This is also the reason why the development of relevant industries in China is lagged far behind than the rapid development of satellite navigation technology. As reference shows, the market size of China's satellite navigation and positioning market had been expanded from nearly RMB1 billion yuan in 2000 to RMB12 billion yuan in 2005. Some experts predict that 5 years later, China will probably become the biggest satellite navigation application market in the world along with the completion of Beidou Navigation Satellite System. In 2010, the scale of satellite navigation and positioning industry of China will reach RMB10 billion yuan

Build the industrial giant of application and development

China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System is also the great white hope of a famous enterprise- Beijing BDStar Navigation Tech. Co., Ltd, which is an operation and service provider specially established for "Beidou-1" satellite navigation test system. Since BDStar obtained the first operating license of "Beidou" civil navigation system at the end of 2004, BDStar has completed technology accumulation from 5 aspects successively in just two more years. What is to say, BDStar has built network operation and service technology, information service technology of ocean fishing, ship-borne terminal technology of ocean fishing, mobile technology and navigation receiving technology basing on Beidou.

Last year, "Beidou Satellite Ocean Fishing Comprehensive Information Service" project, a subject of National 863 Plan undertaken by BDStar, won the bid of "Nansha Fishing Boats Position Monitoring and Commanding System" of Ministry of Agriculture. The project integrated the comprehensive technological methods such as satellite navigation and positioning system, geographical information system, satellite communication system, mobile communication network and database, etc, and easily realized the dynamic control and management of fishing boat position under jurisdiction through building a unified information management platform for Nansha fishing safety management. The project could also give alarm and provide rescue for emergency situations, and provide technical support for the command of fishing boats in avoiding and escaping from dangers.

The circle has reached the consensus that the application of Global Satellite Navigation Technology is limited only by people's imagination. Beidou Navigation Satellite, which was successfully launched by China, not only offers wider space for imagination of China's satellite navigation and positioning industry, but will also become the new opportunity of industrial development. Just like what Zhou Ruxin, President of BDStar, said, "within 3 years in the future, satellite navigation industry will bring about a lot of big enterprises and backbone enterprises. It might give birth to an enterprise that is like Lenovo in computer industry. BDStar hopes to be a leader among them."