China on Wednesday sent a new BeiDou navigation satellite into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The satellite was launched at 10:49 a.m. (Beijing Time) by a Long March-3B carrier rocket. It will be connected to the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) after it enters orbit and completes in-orbit tests. The satellite, designed to enter geostationary earth orbit, is the 56th of the BeiDou family and also the first backup satellite for the country's BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System (BDS-3). The satellite will expand the communication capacity of the system's regional short-messaging function, enhance positioning accuracy and promote the network's availability and stability.
