Beidou Navigation: The “Savior” and “Helper” of the Navigation Industry

Since the first artificial satellite was launched into space in 1957, humans have begun to study satellite navigation technology and build space-based navigation systems, including my country's Beidou satellite navigation system.

According to public information, in the 1970s, the older generation of Chinese scientists promoted the "Lighthouse Project", which sounded the "overture" of my country's satellite navigation. In the 1980s, my country used two geostationary communication satellites to conduct positioning demonstration and verification tests, laying a technical foundation for the subsequent implementation of the Beidou system project.

In 1994, the BeiDou system was officially launched, and according to the "three-step" plan, the launch and networking work was gradually implemented. As of May 17 this year, the BeiDou system has launched a total of 60 satellites (including 4 BeiDou-1 navigation test satellites), and 50 are in service.

The BeiDou system consists of a space segment, a ground segment and a user segment. The space segment consists of a series of geostationary satellites and medium earth orbit satellites, which are used to send and receive signals. That is, the satellite receives the signal sent by the ground equipment, and then combines the map information to convert the signal into position coordinate information, and then sends it to the ground equipment.

The ground segment consists of a master control station, ground stations, and intersatellite link operation and management equipment. The master control station analyzes satellite observation data based on signals sent by satellites, sets instructions, and sends them to satellites to prompt them to take corresponding actions, such as driving satellites to "focus" on ground targets with high precision. The ground station mainly serves as a signal relay station between the master control station and satellites.

The user segment includes terminal equipment, application systems, etc., which makes it easy for users to carry out remote operations and enjoy services conveniently.

During the development of the BeiDou system, navigation and communication functions have been fully integrated, which can efficiently realize information exchange and location sharing. At present, the BeiDou system has been widely used in the field of navigation, with specific functions including ship traffic management, maritime search and rescue, and navigation support.

Due to the complex marine environment, ships must be monitored in real time during navigation in order to avoid unexpected situations. At present, maritime authorities mainly use the ship traffic management center and the ship automatic identification system (AIS) to monitor ships in real time. If the Beidou system and AIS are combined, the ship's AIS information can be sent to the shore via short messages, thereby effectively expanding the scope of real-time monitoring, and has become an increasingly common means of ensuring navigation safety.

As we all know, maritime search and rescue is dangerous and complicated. Usually, maritime accidents are accompanied by bad weather and sea conditions, and observation conditions are unfavorable. Therefore, the biggest difficulty in maritime search and rescue is to accurately locate the wrecked ship and trapped people. Traditionally, maritime rescue workers mainly use the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System, but the application price of this system is high and the operation is complicated, so many ships do not install it.

After the BeiDou system was officially put into use, a better solution was born: using the BeiDou system's emergency position beacon to automatically or manually send a distress signal when people are in distress at sea. Since the BeiDou system has a two-way short message communication function, when the distress message is sent, the land control center can immediately start information collection and implement rescue in the shortest time, thus maximizing the success rate of rescue.

In fact, the BeiDou system is not only useful in times of crisis, but also plays a big role in normal times. The navigation support department is the core part of the maritime system, involving detailed and complex work such as navigation mark setting and maintenance, hydrographic surveying, and tidal observation, which requires high accuracy of equipment. The BeiDou system can effectively meet the requirements of maritime workers for precision and positioning accuracy, and provide customized services to significantly reduce costs.

In short, as the BeiDou satellite navigation system continues to achieve technological upgrades and its application scope continues to expand, it will play an increasingly critical role in the maritime industry and lay a solid foundation for creating a scientific, information-based and intelligent maritime navigation environment. (Author: Zhao Qianpeng Image source: BeiDou Satellite Navigation System Official Website Gatekeeper: Jiang Fan, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Committee of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation)