BD-3 I1

Spacecraft nº:

Chinese spacecraft nº: 245

Launch data:

Spacecraft data:

Description:

• BD 3I (Beidou 3I) satellites are the IGSO component of the 3rd phase of the chinese Beidou (Compass) satellite navigation system, which, in contrast to GPS and GLONASS, uses both geostationary satellites and satellites in intermediate orbit.
• This series provides the satellites for the inclined geostatonary (IGSO) constellation called "Compass-I".

Mission details:

• The BDW 17 satellite, first in the Beidou-3 generation of Chinese navigation satellites, was launched on Mar 30, 2015. For the first time the CZ-3C rocket used an additional, 4th stage, the Yuanzheng-1 (Expedition-1). The stage uses UDMH/N2O4 storable propellants like the Briz-M or Fregat, but has even lower thrust ¬ only 6.5 kN ¬ and so will need yet longer burn times.
• The the CZ-3C third stage has been tracked in a 194 x 25307 km x 54.9 deg transfer orbit, and as of Apr 12 an object (40549) that is probably Beidou is in a 35796 x 36781 km x 55.0 deg orbit drifting over 120E. The YZ-1 stage has not yet been tracked; its orbit is probably a little higher than Beidou following a depletion burn. It's possible however that YZ-1 is 40549 and it's Beidou that hasn't been found yet.