[SatNews] The Xi Chang Satellite Launch Center was a center of activity as the country forged ahead to reduce their reliance on GPS.

China's fifth satellite, BeiDou-2, climbed into orbit at 5:30 a.m., local time, via a Long March (Chang Zheng-3A) rocket to become part of the nation's global positioning system. The process of moving away from the U.S. GPS system was started in 2000 and, with their latest launch, China moves closer to being able to offer SATCOM services throughout the Asia-Pacific region by 2012. Their overall plan is to ensure a fully operational GPS system by 2020, this according to the Xinhua news agency. Code-named "Compass," this is a 2G satellite that is reportedly able to offer real-time, uninterrupted 3D GPS services.