Thailand has become the first overseas user of the Chinese satellite navigation system Beidou - the Chinese version of the American GPS. China National Radio said a 2 billion yuan (9.5 billion baht) agreement to promote the use of Beidou in Thailand's public sector was signed in Bangkok last week, as the South China Morning Post reported. The system will be used in disaster relief, power distribution and transport, among other areas.
Beidou is is expected to provide global service by 2020 with 5 geostationary orbit satellites and 30 non-geostationary orbit satellites. The ground section consists of main control stations, the injectionstations and the monitoring stations. The user section includes terminators of BeiDou system, with some being compatible with other navigation satellite system. The system’s target is to offer global service, thereby accelerating the foundation of navigation satellite industrial chain, consummating the sustaining extending and guaranteeing system as well as expanding the range of application in the country's economic and social sector.
