This video is about the rivalry between American GPS and Chinese Beidou (BDS) Satellite Navigation System.
⌚ Timestamps:
00:00 How China’s BeiDou Satellite Navigation System (BDS) Overtaken the U.S. GPS
02:37 Current Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)
04:03 History and Development of China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system (BDS)
07:08 Key Characteristics China’s BeiDou Satellite Navigation System (BDS) over U.S. GPS
09:58 Military Implications of China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system (BDS)
11:32 Economic Implications of China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system (BDS)
12:52 Collaboration between Russian GLONASS and China’s BeiDou (BDS) against U.S. GPS
The United States undoubtedly remained world leader in satellite-based positioning for around 4 decades with its well renowned Global Positioning System commonly known as GPS. But as of today, China’s BeiDou has become most powerful competitor of GPS. By 2020, China had reportedly surpassed its American rival in terms of size, with 35 BDS satellites in operation, compared to 31 for GPS. Beijing refers to BDS, along with Chinese 5G technology, as "The Two Pillars of a Great Power." The development and promotion of BDS by China has security, economic, and diplomatic implications for the United States. This rivalry is further intensified by the recent agreement signed between the operators of the Russian high-altitude satellite system Glonass and China’s BeiDou on cooperation in the field of ensuring the complementarity of the global navigation satellite systems in terms of system timescales.
Global Navigation Satellite Systems or GNSS provide positioning, navigation, and timing information by broadcasting radio signals to devices on the ground. Four such global systems are currently in operation including United States' GPS, Russia's Glonass, the European Union's Galileo and Chinese BeiDou or BDS. The United States’ GPS was initiated in 1978 and achieving global coverage in 1995 with positioning accuracy of 2.2 meters which can be further improved with the help of ground-based augmentation systems. Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System or Glonass was initiated in 1982 and achieved global coverage in 1996 with positioning accuracy of 2.8 meters. The European Space Agency’s Galileo system was initiated in 2005 and will achieve full operational capability by 2022 with 1 meter positional accuracy. China’s BeiDou system was initiated in 1994 and achieved global coverage with the commissioning of BDS-3 in 2020 with initial positioning accuracy of 1.2 meter for public.
China has sought to field its own satellite navigation system in order to address national security requirements by ending military reliance on GPS, to build a commercial downstream satellite navigation industry to take advantage of the quickly expanding market; and to achieve domestic and international prestige by fielding one of only four such GNSS cementing China’s status as a leading space power. China launched its BeiDou or Northern Dipper program in the 1990s. By 2000, the construction of the BDS-1 was completed which was mainly used to broadcast positioning and timing signals over China. 12 years later, the construction of BDS-2 was completed which was designed to provide navigation services over the broader Asia-Pacific region.
There are obvious military implications, as BeiDou is a force multiplier for China's military. Like, China may now autonomously guide missiles and bombs to fixed military targets without fear that the United States will disable navigation services.
There are also several economic implications of the independent BeiDou navigation system. Like, China claims that the BDS will create a world of intelligent production and innovation based on a self-sufficient system that is independent of the West.
Another key player in the field is Russia. Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System with a constellation of 24 satellites in orbit has great advantages for military uses due to its strong anti-jamming capability.
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