China has launched the Beidou-2 i7 satellite as part of its navigation constellation which is broadly equivalent to the US GPS system. The satellite was launched at 2058 GMT on 9 July on its way to a highly inclined geosynchronous Earth orbit by a Long March 3A rocket operating out of the Xichang launch site in China. The satellite which is approximately 4,200kg was built by CAST (Chinese Academy of Satellite Technology).
