Next Two Beidou Navigation Satellites Orbited by Chinese Long March 3B

China conducted its seventh orbital space launch of the year on Monday with a Long March 3B rocket placing the next pair of Beidou-3 navigation satellites into orbit to join the country’s growing Global Navigation Satellite System that is expected to reach operational strength later this year.

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China Continues Busy January with Dual-Satellite Launch for Beidou Navigation System

China continued its busy beginning of year push on Thursday with the launch of a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, carrying the next two Beidou-3 navigation satellites to join the country’s growing global navigation satellite system

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2017 Space Launch Statistics

The year 2017 saw a total of 90 known orbital launch attempts from seven nations and space ports in eight different countries. 2017 had the second most orbital launch attempts of any year in the current century, short of 92 launches in 2014 and showing a slight increase from 2016 that had 85 known launch attempts.

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Ariane 5 Closes 2017 with Four-Satellite Delivery for European Galileo Navigation System

Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket lifted off from the Guiana Space Center on Tuesday on its second mission in support of the Galileo Navigation Satellite System, aiming to add the next four members to the growing constellation set to reach operational strength in 2018 to begin offering global navigation services.

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Photos: Ariane 5 Rolls Out for Liftoff with Four Galileo Navigation Satellites

Europe’s Ariane 5 workhorse launch vehicle rolled to the ELA-3 launch pad at the Guiana Space Center on December 11, 2017 in preparation for launch with the second group of four Galileo satellites to take the navigation system one step closer to reaching its fully operational capability.

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Long March 3B Rocket Lifts off with two Chinese Navigation Satellites

A Chinese Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the country’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center around 11:44 UTC on Sunday, embarking on a multi-hour climb into an orbit over 21,000 Kilometers in altitude to dispatch a pair of Beidou-3 navigation satellites to join China’s global navigation satellite system currently undergoing deployment.

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Final Building Block for Japanese Navigation Constellation Arrives in Orbit

Japan’s H-IIA rocket blasted off from Tanegashima Island Tuesday morning with the final building block in the country’s regional navigation system, designed to improve GPS navigation services in the street canyons of the island nation’s largest cities and deliver enhanced navigation accuracy to aid air traffic control.

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Final QZSS Navigation Augmentation Constellation Member to Launch Monday Night on H-IIA

Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System, designed to improve the availability & accuracy of satellite navigation over the island nation, will reach full strength on Monday when the fourth and last planned QZSS satellite takes flight atop an H-IIA rocket blasting off from the picturesque Tanegashima Space Center.

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Glonass Satellite Blasts Off on Soyuz to Replenish Russian Navigation Constellation

Russia’s trusted Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the early hours on Friday with a Glonass navigation satellite to replace a recently-failed member of the country’s Global Navigation Satellite System

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