40549 - BEIDOU I1-S

The Beidou satellite system includes navigation stations circling Earth in different types of orbits. Chinese officials did not disclose where in the constellation the Long March rocket released the satellite.

The spacecraft - with a launch mass of nearly one ton - is the 17th satellite to launch in China's operational Beidou system, and it was constructed by a Shanghai-based division of the China Academy of Sciences set up to develop small satellite platforms.

The Beidou network will consist of 35 satellites when complete in 2020. The satellites will be scattered in three types of orbits - geosynchronous orbit over the equator and in inclined orbits circling 22,300 miles and 13,300 miles above Earth.

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 2015-03-30
Launch Vehicle: Long March 3C
Launch Site: Xichang, Peoples Republic of China