China Finally Completes Its Rival GPS Network

Tuesday’s launch of the final BDS-3 satellite at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. (Photo: STR/AFP/China OUT via Getty Images)

On Tuesday, China launched the final satellite in its BeiDou Navigation Satellite (BDS) System, marking the completion of its homegrown GPS-esque navigation system.

The project has been decades in the making. It began in the 1990s, and the first satellite launch was in October 2000, according to Space.com. BDS is currently one of four global navigations systems. The others are the U.S. government-run GPS, Russia’s GLONASS, and the European Union’s Galileo. While GPS is the most commonly known, you might be familiar with GLONASS or Galileo from various running watches or your carbr>Read More