Project director Ran Chengqi told reporters that the core of the positioning system was completed this month with the launch additional satellites bringing its total constellation to 24.
That was up from 19 the year before, making it one of rising space power China's most complex projects.
Ran described the system at a rare news conference as having "high performance indicators, new technology systems, high localization, mass production networking and a wide range of users."
"Before June 2020, we plan to launch two more satellites into geostationary orbit and the Beidou-3 system will be fully completed," Ran said.
The latest launches mark the third iteration of Beidou, meaning "Big Dipper," the first of which was decommissioned in 2012. Future plans call for a smarter, more accessible and more integrated system with Beidou at its core, to come online by 2035, Ran said.
"As a major space infrastructure for China to provide public services to the world, the Beidou system will always adhere to the development concept of 'China's Beidou, the world's Beidou, and the first-class Beidou,' serving the world and benefiting mankind," Ran said.
China's space program has developed rapidly along all lines over the past two decades and developing independent high-tech capabilities — and even dominating in fields such as 5G data processing — is a major government priority.
In 2003, China became just the third country to independently launch a manned space mission and has since constructed an experimental space station and sent up a pair of rovers to the surface of the moon. Future plans call for a fully-functioning permanent space station, a mission to mars and a possible crewed flight to the moon. Unf-16
15 killed, 66 hurt after plane crashes in Kazakhstan
Almaty, Kazakhstan, Dec 27 (AP/UNB) — A Kazakhstan plane with 98 people aboard has crashed shortly after takeoff early Friday, killing at least 15 people, officials in Almaty said. At least 66 others survived with injuries, 50 of them hospitalized.
The Bek Air aircraft hit a concrete fence and a two-story building after takeoff from Almaty International Airport. It lost attitude at 7:22 a.m. (0122 GMT), the airport said.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the airport said there was no fire and a rescue operation got underway immediately following the crash.
Around 1,000 people were working at the snow-covered site of the crash. The weather in Almaty was clear, with mild sub-zero temperature that is common at this time of the year.
Footage showed the front of the broken-up fuselage rammed a house and the rear of the plane lying in the field next to the airport.
The plane was flying to Nur-Sultan, the country's capital formerly known as Astana.
The aircraft was identified as a Fokker-100, a medium-sized, twin-turbofan jet airliner. The company manufacturing the aircraft went bankrupt in 1996 and the production of the Fokker-100 stopped the following year.
All Bek Air and Fokker-100 flights in Kazakhstan have been suspended pending the investigation of the crash, the country's authorities said.