New Compass Launch Rumored, but No ICD in Sight
November 22, 2011The long-awaited signal interface control document (ICD) for China’s Beidou/Compass GNSS has not yet appeared, despite an announcement at the ION-GNSS conference by Chinese delegates that ICD document v1.0 will be published in 2011, “probably” in the month of October. When it does appear, it should be available for international download on the Compass website, www.beidou.gov.cn (as yet without an English version), also at www.compass.gov.cn.
The delay in publishing a document may reflect a system very much in formulation, with ongoing discussions among the principal parties to its design, with different views on system architecture and possibly even final signal structure. This was one possible conclusion that could be inferred — a dynamic system in formation and growing rapidly — from varying reports given by different Chinese representatives, governent and academic, at the ION Compass session.
There was some disagreement among panelists at that time as to, for example, the final targeted number of satellites in the system: either 30, or 35.
The ICD has been rumored to be available previously to receiver manufacturers within China, creating some disgruntlement among companies outside the country. One of the ION panelists affirmed that GPS/Compass chips and receivers are being actively developed by many Chinese manufacturers and research institutes.
The next BeiDou/Compass launch, which will be for the system’s fifth inclined geosynchronous orbit satellite, is expected during the first few days of December, according to web discussions. As of press time for this magazine, there had been no official announcement on the Chinese official government BeiDou website.
The site has posted Chinese and English versions of a document entitled “Report on the Development of BeiDou (COMPASS) Navigation Satellite System (V1.0)” by the China Satellite Navigation Office. The pages are viewable as separate images.
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