The BeiDou Navigation System (simplified Chinese: 北斗导航系统; traditional Chinese: 北斗導航系統; pinyin: Běidǒu dǎoháng xìtǒng) or BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (simplified Chinese: 北斗卫星导航系统; traditional Chinese: 北斗衛星導航系統; pinyin: Běidǒu wèixīng dǎoháng xìtǒng) is a Chinese satellite navigation system. It may refer to either one or both generations of the Chinese navigation system.
The first BeiDou system, officially called the BeiDou Satellite Navigation Experimental System and also known as BeiDou-1, consists of three satellites and offers limited coverage and applications. It has been offering navigation services, mainly for customers in China and neighboring regions, since 2000.
The second generation of the system, known as Compass or BeiDou-2, will be a global satellite navigation system consisting of 35 satellites, and is under construction as of October 2012. It became operational in China in December 2011, with 10 satellites in use. It is planned to offer services to customers in the Asia-Pacific region by 2012, and to global customers upon its completion in 2020.
Read more about Beidou Navigation System: Nomenclature, List of Satellites (as of November 2012)
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