Current Affairs - Science - Discussion

China completed the deployment of its indigenously developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) constellation with the successful launch of 2 more satellites. The two satellites were launched into space on a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan Province, China. The satellites entered a medium earth orbit over 3 hours after the launch. They will work with 17 other BDS-3 satellites already in space. BDS competes with the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS). It will start providing services to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative by December 2018.