State media reports China is building its own navigation and positioning system. Beijing started a drive to end its reliance on the US Global Positioning System in 2000, when it sent an experimental pair of positioning satellites into orbit.
China’s satellites aim to provide navigation, time and short message services in the Asia-Pacific region before 2012 and will be capable of offering global navigation by 2020.
Yahoo! reports the system, code named ‘COMPASS’, will be crucial for the transport and oil exploration industries as well as for weather and disaster forecasting, telecommunications and public security. Note that as the Chinese satellites – eventually there will be 37 of them – start to operate so the United States satellites come to the end of their useful life. It is almost a power transition that will find few supporters in the United States.
Categories