China launches a new satellite of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, March 9, 2020, only one step away from completing the whole global system. The satellite, the 54th of the BeiDou family, was sent into a geostationary orbit as planned by a Long March-3B carrier rocket. The newly launched satellite is the second geostationary earth orbit satellite of the BDS-3 system, and the last one is expected to be launched in May. (Photo by Guo Wenbin/Xinhua)
Satellite stocks listed on China's A-share market posted gains in morning trading on Wednesday, boosted in anticipation of Chinese navigation satellite network BeiDou being completed within the month.
Shares of Beijing BDStar Navigation Co rose 2.38 percent after the company said in a statement that its chips stand ready to support global signals sent by the BeiDou systems when the last satellite is launched this month, completing the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), a global geolocation network.
Shares of satellite navigation system services provider Hwa Create Corporation rose 6.71 percent, and Guangzhou Hi-Target Navigation Tech Co saw its shares rise by 2.08 percent.
China will in June launch the last satellite for the
Beidou-3 system, an array of 30 satellites that will provide services to global users, including navigation, positioning and data communication.
China's BDS is a space-based GNSS, one of four in the world alongside the US' GPS, Russia's GLONASS, and the European Union's Galileo.
The BDS system began providing global services at the end of 2018, when the construction of the BDS-3 primary system was completed.
"The satellite and rocket have been moved to the launch site, and we are making all preparations before launch, which is expected to take place at an opportune time in June," an industry insider who declined to be named told the Global Times on Wednesday.