Recent enhancements in global satellite navigation have taken a significant leap forward thanks to the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS), which now tracks an additional 20 BeiDou-3 satellites orbiting the Earth. This expansion from the initial four satellites under surveillance marks a major milestone for the BeiDou Satellite Navigation System (BDS), a critical component of the global navigation structure alongside GPS and Galileo.
Our team at the Associated ILRS Analysis Center has detailed these advancements in a new study, "Satellite Laser Ranging to BeiDou-3 Satellites: Initial Performance and Contribution to Orbit Model Improvement" by Zajdel et al., 2024. You can read more about the study here: GPS Solutions, Volume 28, 100 (2024).
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