China Launches Another Compass GEO Navigation Satellite

China lifted another Compass (Beidou-2) satellite into geostationary orbit (GEO) today (June 2) — its second such launch this year. It joins two other GEOs and a middle-earth-orbiting spacecraft in China’s second-generation GNSS system now under development. China hopes to have a regional satellite navigation system in place by 2012 to provide a regional service. Fourteen space vehicles (SVs) would comprise the regional constellation: five GEOs, four MEOs, and five inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO) satellites. The full GNSS constellation will include 27 MEOs, 3 IGSOs, and 5 GEOs. More

(Source: Inside GNSS - Jun 4)