09 February 2021
Xi'an Satellite Control Centre has completed a health check of 52 in-orbit Beidou navigation satellites (BDS) ahead of the Spring Festival holiday.
This is the center's 1st comprehensive operation management examination of all Beidou satellites since the completion of the BDS-3 system for global users. With the help of a self-developed satellite health assessment system, the staff at the center analysed key data of the satellites collect between 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2020.
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09 February 2021
ESPI - the European Space Policy Institute in Vienna has just published its latest publication: "ESPI Report: New Space in Asia". The report gives an overview on commercial space activities in China, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand. China, India and Japan are covered in greater detail, with the two chapters about China providing a broad overview on China's space start-ups. The GoTaikonauts! team and its partners, Blaine Curcio of Orbital Gateway Consulting and Jean Deville of The China Aerospace Blog, provided the content for the technical China part: Chapter 3 'Commercial space ecosystem and trends in China'.
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link to the download page - see report no 77 'New Space in Asia - Full Report'


08 February 2021
To improve regulation and safety for shared e-bikes, about 1,000 shared electric bikes connected with the Beidou Navigation Satellite System are being tested in the Wuhan Future City development zone. bikes equipped with BDS can recognize virtual electronic fences around certain areas to ensure users ride and park within specified areas. If users get outside the given space, they are charged extra fees, and their bike's power will be cut off.
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10 February 2021
On 10 February, Yuanwang 6 departed from a port in Jiangsu Province for maritime spacecraft monitoring missions in the Indian Ocean. The Yuanwang fleet will continue to carry out intensive and challenging maritime missions this year, and Yuanwang 6 alone will operate at sea for over 200 days, according to sources with the country's satellite maritime tracking and controlling authorities. Before the voyage, staff members completed vessel maintenance, examined the ship's facilities and replenished its supplies. In the meanwhile, Yuanwang 7 and Yuanwang 3, are preparing for follow-up missions.
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