BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st July, 2020) Chinese President Xi Jinping officially announced on Friday the launch of China's BeiDou-3 global navigation system.
The launch ceremony took place in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
On June 23, China successfully placed into the orbit the 55th satellite for the BeiDou-3 system, completing the system's array and paving the way for the launch of the navigation service.�
BeiDou is expected to compete against the US-made GPS system and Russia's Glonass service. The system is expected to become fully operational by the end of the year.
Existing BeiDou satellite navigation technology helped the Chinese authorities map the construction of two temporary COVID-19 hospitals in the city of Wuhan, the first epicenter of the outbreak, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said back in March.
Chief designer of the BeiDou system, Yang Changfeng, said in May that more than 70 percent of China's registered smartphones have access to the satellite navigation service.
