{"id":586901,"date":"2026-04-05T11:06:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T11:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/586901\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T11:06:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T11:06:22","slug":"chinas-gps-rival-beidou-is-getting-an-upgrade-as-beijing-eyes-global-adoption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/586901\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s GPS rival, BeiDou, is getting an upgrade as Beijing eyes global adoption"},"content":{"rendered":"<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">China is upgrading the BeiDou satellite navigation system \u2013 its home-grown alternative to the US-run Global Positioning System \u2013 as Beijing seeks to expand the network\u2019s industrial footprint and international reach.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">The project will focus on replacing older satellites with newer, third-generation models and realigning their orbital paths to allow more comprehensive global coverage, according to a document released by the China Satellite Navigation Office in late March.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">The in-orbit upgrade will consolidate BeiDou\u2019s active constellation to 37 satellites from the current 50. Most of them will operate in medium Earth orbit \u2013 the same altitude range used by GPS and Galileo \u2013 which is essential for navigation systems to provide consistent international coverage.<\/p>\n<p>Of the remaining BeiDou satellites, five will occupy inclined geosynchronous orbits to offer better signal reliability at higher latitudes and across regions. Another four will be in geostationary orbit, covering key regions in <a target=\"_self\" class=\"e1yy41x40 ef9u0v01 css-1ankfgb ecgc78b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/economy\/china-economy\/article\/3340442\/china-signs-record-us213-billion-new-belt-and-road-deals-2025-report?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article\" title=\"\" data-qa=\"BaseLink-renderAnchor-StyledAnchor\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">The upgraded constellation will primarily be made up of third-generation BDS-3 satellites, which offer better accuracy and communication capabilities than earlier models.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Thirteen BDS-2 satellites will be decommissioned as part of the upgrade. Meanwhile, five slots in the network remain vacant, leaving space for future expansion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"China is upgrading the BeiDou satellite navigation system \u2013 its home-grown alternative to the US-run Global Positioning System&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586902,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,287096,83441,3686,8796,99,512,287097,2588,78600,7130,12241,18468,26726,93423],"class_list":{"0":"post-586901","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-bds-3-satellites","11":"tag-beidou","12":"tag-beijing","13":"tag-belt-and-road","14":"tag-business","15":"tag-china","16":"tag-china-satellite-navigation-office","17":"tag-european-union","18":"tag-galileo","19":"tag-gps","20":"tag-middle-east","21":"tag-national-development-and-reform-commission","22":"tag-xinhua","23":"tag-zheng-shanjie"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}