China Launches 5th Compass (Beidou-2) Navigation Satellite — First IGSO

Fifth Beidou-2 satellite launched. Xinhua/Du Cai photo

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[Updated August 1, 2010] China's state news agency has reported that the fifth Compass (Beidou-2) satellite — the system's first inclined geostationary orbit (IGSO) spacecraft — was launched successfully at 5:30 a.m. Sunday (August 1 — local time) from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province

This was the third Compass satellite put into orbit this year, following launches in June and January 2010.

The full Beidou-2 constellation will ultimately include 35 space vehicles: 27 in middle Earth orbit (MEO), 5 GSOs, and 3 IGSOs.

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