CZ-3B/G2

A Long March-3B rocket carrying a new-generation Beidou satellite lifts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Sept. 20, 2015. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Description

• It was the 20th satellite for the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), and puts China one step closer to providing an alternative to the U.S.-operated GPS.
• For the first time the satellite featured a hydrogen atomic clock. A series of tests related to the clock and a new navigation-signal system will be undertaken, according to a statement from the center.
• Named after the Chinese term for the plough or the Big Dipper constellation, the Beidou project was formally launched in 1994, some 20 years after GPS.
• The first Beidou satellite was not launched until 2000. Nonetheless, by 2012, a regional network had already taken shape, which provided positioning, navigation, timing and short message services in China and several other Asian countries.