Three Orbital Regimes — The Architecture GPS Doesn't Have
Constellation Status
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BeiDou vs GPS
| 🇨🇳 BeiDou | 🇺🇸 GPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Satellites in orbit (live) | 61 | 32 |
| Orbital regimes | 3 — MEO + IGSO + GEO | 1 — MEO only |
| Global service since | 2020 | 1995 |
| Public accuracy | ~2.5–5 m global · ~1 m Asia-Pacific | ~5 m |
| Two-way messaging | ✓ 14,000-character short messages | ✗ |
| Search & rescue return-link | ✓ acknowledges your SOS | partial (Cospas-Sarsat standard) |
| In your phone | ✓ most modern chipsets | ✓ |
Satellite counts are live from our tracking data; capability rows are curated specifications. Compare all four systems on the navigation constellations guide and the GPS tracker.
What Makes BeiDou Different
📨 SHORT MESSAGES
The only GNSS with built-in two-way messaging — up to 14,000 characters via GEO satellites. Fishing fleets and disaster responders use it where phone networks don't exist.
🆘 SOS WITH A REPLY
BeiDou's search-and-rescue service sends a return acknowledgement — the person in distress knows help heard them. GPS can't do that.
🎯 PPP-B2b PRECISION
A free precise-point-positioning signal over Asia-Pacific reaching decimetre level — no ground station required.
🛰️ INTER-SATELLITE LINKS
BDS-3 satellites talk to each other across regimes, keeping the constellation accurate even with limited ground contact.
Launch History
Every BeiDou launch, linked to its page in our launch database — nearly all on the Long March 3B/E from Xichang:
| Mission | Date | Vehicle | Payloads | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loading launch history… | ||||
Go Deeper
CHINA IN SPACEThe whole national picture, live
SATELLITE DIRECTORYEvery BeiDou satellite, live data
NAVIGATION SYSTEMSGPS · Galileo · GLONASS · BeiDou
LONG MARCH FAMILYThe rockets that built BeiDou
GROUNDLINKAz/el look angles + GNSS DOP incl. BeiDou
LAUNCH DATABASEChina's full launch record
Frequently Asked Questions
Orbital Radar is currently tracking 61 BeiDou satellites across three orbital regimes — the MEO workhorses at ~21,500 km plus IGSO and GEO layers at 35,786 km. The live counter at the top of this page updates automatically from our tracking data.
Different, and regionally often stronger: 61 satellites versus GPS's 32, three orbital regimes instead of one, ~1 m public accuracy over Asia-Pacific, plus two-way messaging and an SOS return-link GPS lacks. Globally the two perform comparably — and your phone almost certainly uses both at once.
The MEO shell provides global coverage like GPS; the IGSO satellites trace figure-eights centred over Asia and the GEO satellites sit parked at 80°–160°E — stacking extra signals over China and the Asia-Pacific, and carrying the messaging payloads.
The constellation was completed in June 2020 and declared globally operational the following month. Launches since then — on the Long March 3B/E — are replacements and upgraded BDS-3 spacecraft, with next-generation satellites planned toward 2035.
Not with the naked eye — at 21,500+ km they are far too faint, unlike low-orbiting Starlink. But they are always above you: the overhead checker on this page shows exactly which ones, with elevation and azimuth for antenna pointing.