China launched twin Beidou-3 satellites successfully at 02:07am on Monday, enabling the domestically developed satellite system to expand its coverage¹ to countries involved in the Belt and Road initiative by year's end.

本周一凌晨两点零七分，我国成功发射了两颗北斗3号卫星，预示着中国自主研发的卫星系统可以在年底前将其覆盖范围扩大到"一带一路"沿线国家。

The satellites were sent on a Long March-3B carrier rocket in Southwest China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center and are the 42th and 43th of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System.

这些卫星是北斗导航卫星系统的第42和43颗卫星，由长征三号乙运载火箭装载，在中国西南部的西昌卫星发射中心发射。

"The two satellites are also the 18th and 19th of the Beidou-3 series," said Yang Changfeng, chief designer of the Beidou satellite system. "They run about 36,000 km above the Earth."

北斗卫星系统的首席设计师杨长风称：“这两颗卫星也是北斗3号系列的第18和第19颗卫星，它们会在地球上空约36000公里处运行。”

重磅! 我国又成功发射两颗北斗导航卫星!

"Working with 17 other Beidou-3 satellites already in orbit, the basic satellite constellation² of Beidou-3 will finish its establishment by year's end," he said.

他表示：“它们与其他已经在轨道上运行的17颗北斗三号卫星一起运行，北斗三号的基本系统星座部署将在年底前完成建设。”

"By then, the network will provide basic navigation service for countries or regions participating in the Belt and Road initiative."

“到那时，该网络将为参与“一带一路”倡议的国家或地区提供基本导航服务。”

The Beidou network, mainly constructed by China Aerospace³ Science and Technology Corp, is one of the four space-based navigation networks along with the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS and European Union's Galileo.

北斗系统主要由中国航天科技公司建设，与美国GPS、俄罗斯全球导航卫星系统和欧盟伽利略并称四大航天导航网络。

Since 2000, when the first Beidou satellite was placed in the space, a total of 47 satellites, including four experiment satellites, have been launched for the system and several of them have been retired⁴.

自2000年第一颗北斗卫星进入太空以来，前后共有47颗卫星发射升空，其中包括4颗试验卫星，还有几颗卫星已经退役。

Beidou began providing positioning, navigation, timing⁵ and message services to civilian⁶ users in China and parts of the Asia-Pacific region in December 2012. According to government plans, the network will have global coverage before the end of 2020.

2012年12月，北斗卫星系统开始向中国及亚太部分地区的民用用户提供定位、导航、授时和信息服务。根据政府计划，该网络将于2020年底之前覆盖全球。