June 24, 2019 - China Launches New Navigation Satellite for Beidou System

On June 24, 2019, China launched BeiDou-3 IGSO-2 aboard a Long March 3B rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province. It was China's ninth successful orbital mission of 2019 and the 46th BeiDou navigation satellite launched since 2000. The satellite sits in an inclined geosynchronous orbit at roughly 35,800 km, helping extend coverage across the Asia-Pacific region. There's a lot more to this launch and the system behind it than you'd expect.

Key Takeaways

On June 24, 2019, China launched BeiDou-3 IGSO-2, the 46th BeiDou navigation satellite, aboard a Long March 3B rocket from Xichang.
The satellite was placed into an inclined geosynchronous orbit at approximately 35,800 km altitude with a 55° inclination.
BeiDou-3 IGSO-2 enhances Asia-Pacific coverage by oscillating between 55°N and 55°S latitude over a 24-hour cycle.
The launch was China's ninth successful orbital mission of 2019, contributing to the planned 35-satellite BeiDou-3 constellation.
BeiDou offers positioning accuracy of 10 meters, speed measurement within 0.2 m/s, and unique two-way communication capabilities.

What Beidou Satellite Launched on June 24, 2019?

China launched the BeiDou-3 IGSO-2 satellite on June 24, 2019, marking the 46th Beidou navigation satellite sent into orbit since the program began in 2000.

You can track this satellite's Beidou identity through several designations: it's also known as Beidou DW 46 or BD-3 I2. For satellite designation purposes, it carries the launch log identifier 2019-035 and NORAD catalog number 44337.

The satellite belongs to BeiDou-3, China's third-generation navigation system. It's one of three Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO) satellites designed to enhance regional positioning accuracy over the Asia-Pacific.

Its launch represented China's ninth successful orbital mission of 2019, reinforcing the country's continued commitment to expanding its independent global navigation infrastructure. The satellite was carried to orbit aboard a Long March 3B rocket, lifting off from the Xichang space center in Sichuan province. The BeiDou system was declared fully operational in July 2020 following the final satellite launch on June 23, 2020.

The Long March 3B Rocket and Its Flight Path

The rocket that carried BeiDou-3 IGSO-2 into orbit was the Long March 3B, the most powerful and heaviest vehicle in the Long March 3 family. Standing 56.3 meters tall with a liftoff mass of 456 metric tons, it generates approximately 5,924–5,986 kN of thrust from its four liquid-fueled strap-on boosters and three core stages. The Long March 3B is developed and manufactured by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, also known as CALT.

After booster separation, the rocket's launch trajectory carried it over Sichuan, Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, the southern tip of Taiwan, and into the Pacific. The vehicle first achieved a parking orbit with a 170 km perigee and 450 km apogee before the third stage reignited over the equator, inserting the satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit with a 36,000 km apogee. The Long March 3B's third stage is powered by the YF-75 engine, a LOX/LH2 engine featuring two 78.5 kN thrust chamber motors with re-ignition capability that enabled the critical second burn over the equator.

Where This Beidou Satellite Fits in the Constellation

With the launch of BeiDou-3 IGSO-2 on June 24, 2019, China's 55th Beidou satellite took its place in a constellation designed to field 35 satellites across three orbital regimes: 27 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), five Geostationary (GEO), and three Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO).

This satellite enters a 55°-inclined geosynchronous orbit at roughly 35,800 km, oscillating between 55°N and 55°S latitudes over one 24-hour cycle—a product of deliberate orbital mechanics that maximizes Asia-Pacific visibility while extending global reach.

You'll notice that slot optimization drives BeiDou-3's unified GEO/IGSO satellite design, streamlining production across both orbit types. This IGSO addition complements 24 MEO satellites spread across three orbital planes at ~21,500 km, pushing BDS-3 closer to its full 30-satellite operational configuration. When completed, Beidou will provide independent worldwide positioning and timing services free of charge, placing it alongside U.S. GPS, Russia's GLONASS, and Europe's Galileo as a major global navigation system. Much like Canada's Anik A1, which pioneered domestic national coverage via a single orbital platform in 1972, BeiDou-3's architecture demonstrates how satellite constellations can serve both remote and densely populated regions within a single unified system.

Several BeiDou-3 MEO satellites, including M7, M14, M22, and M24, carry COSPAS-SARSAT MEOSAR payloads, extending the constellation's utility beyond navigation to include search and rescue signal detection.

Beyond its orbital design, BeiDou-3 delivers a robust suite of navigation, messaging, and positioning services that set it apart from competing GNSS systems.

You'll find it achieves 10-meter positioning accuracy, speed measurement within 0.2 m/s, and timing synchronization to 0.02 microseconds.

Its message integration capability lets you send up to 14,000 bits per transmission while simultaneously sharing location data with platforms or terminals.

For precision positioning, you're looking at horizontal accuracy of 0.11 meters and vertical accuracy of 0.22 meters when combining BDS with GPS, with convergence in just 10 minutes.

BeiDou-3 also supports satellite-based augmentation, precise point positioning, and real-time centimeter-level services.

With availability exceeding 95% across navigation, messaging, and augmentation functions, it's a genuinely capable system for global users. Its B2 AltBOC signals are also compatible with Galileo E5, enabling cleaner code-based TEC estimates and supporting ionospheric research alongside its navigation role.

The system has seen widespread adoption across sectors including transportation, agriculture, fisheries, and disaster relief, reflecting its role as a global public product contributing to economic and social development worldwide. Much like Bluetooth's royalty-free licensing model, which accelerated adoption across phones, computers, and other sectors, BeiDou's open service approach has been instrumental in driving its rapid integration into diverse industries globally.

Building a global navigation network capable of rivaling GPS didn't happen overnight for China—it took three carefully sequenced development phases spanning more than two decades. Industrial policy drove each transition, while export controls on Western technology pushed China toward self-reliance. Academic collaboration supported homegrown satellite engineering across every generation.

Here's how the buildout unfolded:

BDS-1 (1994–2000): Two geostationary satellites delivered China-only regional coverage
BDS-2 (2004–2012): 14 satellites expanded service across Asia-Pacific
BDS-3 (2015–2020): 35 satellites achieved full global operational capability
Orbital debris management remained a priority as the constellation reached 45 total satellites

You're looking at a system built deliberately, phase by phase, until China held genuine independence from GPS. The final constellation completion was celebrated at a Beijing ceremony attended by top party officials including Xi Jinping. The origins of the programme stretch back even further, as the PLA Navy proposed Earth-orbiting satellites for navigation as early as 1967, decades before the first Beidou satellite ever reached orbit. Similarly, in the commercial space sector, private companies like Axiom Space have pursued modular assembly strategies drawn from Soviet-era Mir and Zarya designs to build independent orbital infrastructure in phases rather than all at once.

How Beidou's Accuracy and Coverage Compare to GPS and GLONASS

Now that China has built a 55-satellite global network, what you actually get in real-world performance matters.

BeiDou delivers 1-meter public accuracy, matching Galileo and beating GLONASS's 2.8-meter civilian signal. GPS mobile accuracy sits at 4.9 meters under open sky, making BeiDou's signal integrity notably stronger for everyday users.

Coverage tells a similar story.

BeiDou's five GEO and five IGSO satellites give it regional superiority across Asia-Pacific, ensuring you'll always have sufficient visible satellites where other systems thin out. Its PDOP ranges between 1.8 and 4.5 as a standalone system, but combining it with GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo drops that below 1.0, delivering centimeter-level accuracy with the fastest PPP convergence of any single or dual-system configuration. BeiDou reached full global operational status in 2020, completing its evolution from a regional system serving the Asia-Pacific to a fully competitive worldwide constellation. Unlike GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo, BeiDou also supports two-way communication, allowing users to send messages of up to 1,200 Chinese characters directly to satellites. GPS itself required a 24-satellite constellation to achieve the continuous, three-dimensional global positioning coverage that became the standard all modern navigation systems now aim to meet.

China launches new navigation satellite for BeiDou system