China Launches 23rd BeiDou Navigation Satellite

China launched a satellite at 23:30 Sunday to support its global navigation and positioning network. The satellite, launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, was taken into orbit by a Long March-3C carrier rocket. It is the 23rd satellite in the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), which is being developed as an alternative to U.S. GPS. It was the 229th launch of the Long March carrier rocket.