China launched an orbiter into space Wednesday at around 5.45 am Beijing Time, as part of its satellite positioning and navigation network called Beidou (compass system), sources at the launch center announced. The orbiter, which was launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan, was boosted into a geostationary orbit by the Long March-3A carrier rocket. Beijing started developing its own satellite navigation system in 2000 to end reliance on the American Global Positioning System (GPS).

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Context
China launched the eighth orbiter into space on Sunday as part of its positioning network and indigenous satellite navigation. A LM-3A carrier rocket equipped with the Beidou (campus), the navigation satellite was launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwest province of Sichuan at 4.47 am, according to Xinhua. It will now join seven other orbiters already in satellite to establish a network that will ultimately consist of more than 30 orbiters. The network is expected to be in a position to provide universal services by the year 2020.

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