At 1809 GMT a Long March 3B-G2 sent the Beidou-3 IGSO-2 (aka Beidou DW46) into initial transfer orbit of 35818 x 194 km at 28.6 degrees inclination from the Xichang launch site in China. The navigation satellite is expected to be moved to its final circular geosynchronous orbit at circa 36,000 km at a 55 degree inclination relative to the equator. The Beidou satellite system is a military navigation system with significant civilian application and is analogous to the US GPS and European Galileo systems.
