Iran Press/ Asia: The launch of the final satellite, which was broadcast on state-media channel CGTN, was deemed a success at 10.15 a.m. Beijing time.
It was the second attempt to complete the navigation network after a previously scheduled launch was postponed due to “technical issues,” according to Beidou’s official website.
Plans for China’s own system took shape in the late 1990s and the first version of Beidou was in service by 2000, providing coverage for satellite-based services to China.
Footage from state broadcaster CCTV of the launch in southwestern Sichuan province showed the rocket blast off against a backdrop of lush mountains as a small group of onlookers filmed on their phones.
The launch of the Beidou-3GEO3 satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center was originally scheduled for last Tuesday but was delayed over unspecified "technical issues," China's space agency said.
Completing the satellite network makes China a key player in the billion-dollar geolocation services market, observers said.
Beidou named after the Chinese term for the plough or 'Big Dipper' constellation is intended to rival the US's Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo.
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