China has over 6.6 million Beidou satellite-enabled vehicles in commercial operation

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- In China, there have been over 6.6 million commercially operating vehicles powered by the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), and the government will gradually promote a comprehensive and in-depth application of BDS in the traffic and transportation industry, said Sun Wenjian, spokesman of China's Ministry of Transport.

His statement came after the 30th third-generation Beidou satellite was successfully put into its preset orbit by a Long March-3B carrier rocket on June 23. The launch signified the completion of the in-orbit construction of BDS, China's largest space-based system and one of four global navigation networks—the other three are the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo.

(Photo source: www.gov.cn)

Mr. Sun said the Ministry attaches great importance to the industrial application of BDS and will proactively boost a wider application. Aside from the vehicles in commercial operation, China has already deployed more than 51,000 vehicles for postal and express delivery services, 1,356 official system vessels, 8,600 navigational aid facilities on water, 109 coastal ground-based augmentation stations and 300 general aircrafts which are all supported by BDS.

In accordance with a special planning issued by the Ministry of Transport in 2017, China has come up with mid-term and long-term action plans for the transport industry using BDS with the reach extended to railways, highways, sea routes, civil aviation, postal service and other transport-related areas, said Sun.

Up until now, a total of 59 Beidou satellites, including the first four experimental ones, have been launched from Xichang by Long March 3B carrier rockets, four of which have been put into retirement.

The BDS has been used in multiple commercial and public sectors in China, such as transportation, electric power transmission, fisheries, mining and agriculture, etc, according to statistics from the Global Navigation Satellite System and Location-Based Services Association of China.

Moreover, the system had been applied to nearly 6.6 million taxis, buses and trucks, and over 70,000 fishing ships across the country, according to a post on China Daily's WeChat account.