19 November 2020
China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS-3) has passed technical verification on its key performance indicators for applications in the civil aviation sector, according to the civil aviation authorities. This means that the main work of the BDS-3 system has been completed ahead of its draft into the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). It was the first time for the BDS-3 system-related civil signals to receive and pass the systematic technical verification by an international organization.
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19 November 2020
On 23 November, ESA’s Kourou station, located in French Guiana, will track the Chinese lunar mission, Chang’e-5, for several hours shortly after it launches. During this early phase, it is important to determine exactly where the spacecraft is in order to establish a communication link and verify the health of the newly launched craft. Kourou station will provide a way for the Chinese mission control team at the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre to acquire data from the spacecraft and confirm the status of the mission and its orbit.
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17 November 2020
China has completed building the country's first deep space antenna at a ground station in Kashi, Northwest China's Xinjiang, which will be directly used for spacecraft tracking and monitoring missions, including the Tianwen 1 Mars probe and the upcoming Chang'e 5 lunar sample return mission, the Xi'an Satellite Control Center, the Kashi station's operator, announced on 17 November.
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RELATED - report on the Kashgar antenna extension in SCMP

18 November 2020
The BeiDou satellite navigation system, or BDS, has passed an assessment of critical standardization work at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported on 17 November, citing the Chinese civil aviation authority and China Satellite Navigation Office.
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