Document to navigate Beidou to be released

China is likely to release a document deemed vital for mass application of its Beidou navigation satellite system by the end of the year as it is ready to provide services overseas, according to experts.

"As the Beidou navigation satellite system is to officially provide services to customers in the Asia-Pacific region early next year, its official interface control document, or ICD, will be likely made public around the end of the year, to encourage Beidou's application overseas," Yang Yuanxi, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a prominent geodesy scientist, said on the sidelines of the seventh meeting of the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems. The meeting ended in Beijing on Friday.

China sent the 16th satellite of the Beidou system into space last month, completing its network for the Asia-Pacific region. The plan is for the system to consist of 35 satellites and provide global services by about 2020.