China will launch major upgrades to its Beidou navigation system beginning in 2027, the China Satellite Navigation Office said on Thursday.
Beidou is a competitor to GPS, and China aims to improve its real-time accuracy. Research will be completed next year, and three test satellites will be launched in 2027.
The upgraded system will “optimise the constellation structure to form a mixed constellation of high, medium and low Earth orbits,” Beidou’s deputy chief designer Xie Jun told state media organisation China Daily.
“We have initiated a series of research projects focusing on key technologies, particularly emerging technologies such as low Earth orbit satellites,” Xie said.
Beidou currently operates 30 satellites, with the majority in medium Earth orbit.
The system was completed in 2020, and is available internationally as well as in China.
China hopes to begin rolling out its next generation of Beidou satellites in 2029, and construction will be complete by 2035.
The United States has also been aiming to modernise its GPS technology, though new ground stations prepared for the Space Force have been delayed until July 2025.
The U.S. Department of Defense is considering using quantum sensors for future location services. The department’s Defense Innovation Unit is seeking commercial partners to build these sensors for military use, the agency said yesterday.