China has successfully launched the 59th and 60th Beidou navigation satellites

At 9:14 on September 19, 2024, China successfully launched the 59th and 60th Beidou navigation satellites with the Long March-3B carrier rocket and the upper stage of Yuanzheng-1 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. This group of satellites belongs to the medium circle earth orbit (MEO) satellite, which is the second group of MEO satellites launched after the completion and opening of China's Beidou-3 global satellite navigation system.

　 It was learned from the China Satellite Navigation System Management Office that the two satellites launched this time will carry out the test and trial of the new technology of the next-generation Beidou system on the basis of ensuring the precise and stable operation of the Beidou-3 global satellite navigation system. Compared with the previous MEO networking satellites, the group of satellites has upgraded the configuration of the spaceborne atomic clock, equipped with a new type of inter-satellite link terminal, after the network work, will further improve the reliability of the Beidou-3 global satellite navigation system, positioning, navigation timing, global short message communication and other service performance, while supporting the stable operation of the Beidou system and the large-scale application of Beidou, it will carry out relevant tests for the upgrading of the next generation of Beidou navigation satellite technology.
       Since the establishment of the Beidou system project, it has gone through a magnificent 30 years, all Beidou people adhering to the Beidou spirit of the new era of "independent innovation, open integration, unity, and the pursuit of excellence", practicing the development concept of "China's Beidou, the world's Beidou, and the first-class Beidou", and building the Beidou system into a beautiful "national business card". In the next step, China will accelerate the construction and development of the next-generation Beidou system, and increase the technical research on a variety of positioning, navigation, and timing methods that do not rely on satellites. By 2035, China will build and improve a more ubiquitous, more integrated, and more intelligent comprehensive space-time system.