at the end of July, China’s state President, based, announced, Xi Jinping in a ceremony in the Great hall of the people the beginning of the full operation of the Chinese satellite navigation system “Beidou”. It is the conclusion of the 3. and the last stage of expansion, consisting of approximately 35 full-functioning satellite. Beidou is named after the constellation “the Big dipper”. It is already in more than half of all countries, said a foreign Ministry spokesman. Previously, China had been brought to the end of June, the last missing satellites “Beidou 3” into orbit.The navigation system Beidou is potentially in competition with the American GPS, the Russian Glonass and the European Galileo.
cooperation with Galileo failed
Originally wanted to engage China on Galileo. In October 2004, a cooperation agreement was signed between the two sides. With a total investment of 200 million euros in Beijing, the most important would have been a non-European Partner in the Galileo project. However, it quickly became clear that China and Europe had different idea of this cooperation.
The participating European companies, there was improved access to the lucrative Chinese transport and communication markets, China, technology transfer. Since the beginning of the 2000s, Chinese engineers still had difficulties to independently develop such a System.
Robert Weber, an expert in satellite navigation at the Technical University of Vienna, told the DW that it was mainly security concerns in the United States. “Thus was required by China for a financial contribution, but there were, in fact, offered no technical information. So the Deal was off.”
Beijing’s System time
Weber also stressed that Beidou was planned from the beginning. The entry in the Galileo project, the Chinese would have been able to achieve with the data obtained your own project easier and faster.
Actually, the plans for a new Chinese satellite navigation system goes back to the beginning of the 90s, even before Europe had considered to be the Galileo project. It was a few years ago in the Chinese state media, that the precise guided missiles of the United States, which came in the Gulf war in 1990-91 against Iraq, would have impressed the Beijing leadership, “deep”. The Chinese army did not want to make the American GPS-dependent. So it was that China shot in the autumn of 2000, the first Beidou satellites into orbit.
conflict with Galileo due to frequencies
The first test satellite of the Galileo system only in 2005, however, there was to All. For about 30 Galileo satellites, which have now been placed in their respective positions, results in the following Problem: The frequencies, the Galileo needs are, in part, evidenced already by the Beidou satellites.
For Europe this is annoying, because according to the rules of the International telecommunications Agency, the ITU, the Chinese use is not objectionable law. Günter Hein, satellite navigation, head for Galileo, the European space Agency ESA between 2008 and 2014, explains in an interview with DW that the Europeans would have to acknowledge, according to the international rules, the Chinese Frequency allocation. “For security reasons, Europe had been brought to China the desire to change the frequency assignment. It was not meant to. The very long negotiations, in which I have participated, led to no result.”
a Particularly controversial to those frequencies used by public safety and emergency services. Although there are technical possibilities that both systems work with the same frequencies. But if, for example, the Beidou would be selectively disrupted, would also be affected Galileo.
“Yes, the Problem is still there. But we can live with that. Also because in Europe the second Generation of Galileo will be newly developed and you will then solve this Problem,” says however, Günter Hein.
Matthias Petschke, the European Commission for the Galileo System, responsible, believes in a solution to the problem. The consultation process with China to go further and further still. Moreover, China had made since 2015, some Changes to Beidou, in order to reduce the existing frequency overlap more.
the cooperation of the systems with constraints
The Chinese authorities to mention the dispute about the frequency as well. Beidou spokesman Ran Chengqi, confirmed last week that there is between GPS, Glonass, Galileo and Beidou “enormous Potential for cooperation”. As an example, he mentioned that most of the Smartphones today are able to receive both Beidou as well as GPS – and Galileo – signals. “Only iPhones from close Beidou signals. But sooner or later Apple will have to do this step, because Beidou is a good System.”
According to Günter Hein this interoperability is the result of long negotiations. “In civilian areas, there is almost no Galileo-receiver or a Beidou receiver. All devices are so-called multi-system receiver.”
Robert Weber from the Technical University of Vienna praises the collaboration between all four satellite navigation systems in the civilian sector. “This leads to a higher positioning accuracy and, above all, to a simpler Position in signal shadowed regions.” However, there is the case of encrypted signals big security concerns on both sides. “There is no cooperation is possible. These security concerns apply, of course, between Galileo and GPS and / or Glonass satellites, on the other.”
author: Mu Cui
*The contribution of “Beidou and Galileo want to be published” to tolerate is from Deutsche Welle. Contact with the executives here.
Deutsche Welle
