China sends 56th satellite for BeiDou Navigation System into space(1/3)

A Long March 3B carrier rocket carrying the 56th satellite for the BeiDou Navigation System blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 17, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Zhu Lei)

The satellite in a geostationary orbit is the first backup for the third-generation BeiDou network, and the first deployment of a Beidou satellite in three years.

A Long March 3B carrier rocket carrying the 56th satellite for the BeiDou Navigation System blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 17, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Zhu Lei)

A Long March 3B carrier rocket carrying the 56th satellite for the BeiDou Navigation System blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 17, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Zhu Lei)