It looks like the space technology wars between the US and China are continuing to heat up. China has announced that their GPS alternative is now available to the public. The system, known as Beidou (named for the "Big Dipper" constellation) Compass, has been in development for over a decade.
In the past, China was dependent on the American GPS system for both domestic and military use. But now they can operate independently of that requirement, removing an advantage the US had in case of a conflict. Beidou Compas is also expected to have a huge impact on domestic and commercial GPS technology in China.
The system offers civilian geolocation accuracy of 10 meters with speed measurements up to .2 meters per second. Naturally the military will have greater accuracy, but the details have not been released. The Beidou Compass system incorporates 10 satellites, and will be gradually expanded to 35 satellites for a globe coverage target in 2020.
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based satellite navigation system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. It is maintained by the United States government and is freely accessible by anyone with a GPS receiver with some technical limitations[clarification needed] which are only removed for authorized users.
source:wikipedia
