Spirent Adds Compass/BeiDou-2 Capability to GSS8000 Simulator

In response to recent public announcements on the readiness of the BeiDou-2 navigation system and the planned release of the signal Interface Control Document (ICD), Spirent Communications plc has announced support for the Compass Navigation Satellite System (CNSS) on its GSS8000 navigation technology test system.

GNSS Experts to Judge 2011 Satellite Navigation Applications Idea Contest

Find out more about 2011 USA Challenge applications ideas

Six judges — satellite navigation engineering experts from Stanford University, the Air Force Institute of Technology, Overlook Systems, NovAtel, KLA Global, the Institute of Navigation, and Inside GNSS — will select the finalists in the 2011 USA Challenge, one of 23 regional contests in this year's European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC).

China Announces Successful Compass/BeiDou-2 Satellite Launch

[Updated 7:30 p.m. July 26 PDT) China launched another Compass/BeiDou-2 satellite at 5:44 on the morning of July 27 (Sichuan time zone). It is the ninth spacecraft in China's indigenous satellite navigation and positioning network and the fourth in inclined geosynchronous orbit.

The navigation satellite was launched on a Long March-3A carrier rocket, according to China's government-sponsored Compass website at www.beidou.gov.cn.

Chinese Consultancy Charts Evolution of Compass / Beidou Industry

A Beijing consulting firm estimates the size of China’s Compass/BeiDou domestic industry was 6 billion renminbi (US$927 million) in 2010, comprising only 6 percent of the country’s GNSS market.