On December 1, 2011 at 21:07 UTC (on December 2 at 05:07 Beijing Time) the Chang Zheng-3A (Long March-3A) rocket-carrier was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern Sichuan Province, China.
The rocket orbited the "Beidou-2 G10” navigation satellite. It is the 10th satellite of its indigenous global navigation and positioning network known as Beidou, or Compass system.
The global satellite positioning and navigation system will be completed in 2020 with 30 satellites orbiting the earth. Started in 2000, the Beidou satellite navigation system is designed to break China's dependence on the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS). Attachments: | 
