Final third-generation Beidou satellite to be launched Tuesday morning

The final satellite in the third-generation network of China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System is scheduled to be launched on Tuesday morning, according to the China Satellite Navigation Office.

The spacecraft, the 59th in the Beidou family and 30th in the third-generation series, will be lifted atop a Long March 3B carrier rocket launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China's Sichuan province, the office said in a statement issued on Monday afternoon.

The launch window — the period of time suitable for launching the rocket — will start at 10:11 am and end at 10:50 am, the office said, adding that mission commanders have decided the ignition will take place as soon as possible when the window begins.

The new satellite will work with other Beidou satellites to allow users around the globe to access high-accuracy navigation, positioning and timing services.

The launch will mark the completion of the Beidou network, China's largest space-based system and one of the four global navigation networks, along with the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo.

Since 2000, when the first Beidou satellite entered orbit, 58 satellites, including the first four experimental ones, have been launched. Some have since been retired.

Beidou began providing positioning, navigation, timing and messaging services to civilian users in China and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region in December 2012. At the end of 2018, Beidou started to provide global services.

Currently, there are 29 third-generation Beidou satellites in three types of orbit — 24 in medium-Earth orbits, three in inclined geosynchronous satellite orbits and two in geostationary orbits.

There also are some second-generation Beidou satellites in operation, offering regional services.