北斗导航系统全面建成
背景介绍：
今年6月23日，第55号北斗卫星(即最后一颗北斗三号卫星)顺利升空，为中国北斗卫星全球导航系统拼上了最后一块拼图。北斗卫星导航系统也成为继美国全球定位系统(GPS)、俄罗斯格洛纳斯导航系统(GLONASS)、欧洲伽利略导航系统(Galileo)之后的第四大全球卫星导航系统。
China’s home-grown satnav system will soonbe fully functional
中国自主研发的卫星导航系统即将全面投入使用
Thirty-five thousand kilometres above theisland of Borneo, the final piece of a Chinese infrastructure project isfloating into place. The satellite is the last to join the BeiDou navigationsystem, which has taken nearly 30 years to develop and build.
在婆罗洲岛上空3.5万公里处，中国一项基础设施项目的最后一块拼图即将拼上。北斗导航系统的开发建设历时30余载，这将是加入北斗导航系统的最后一颗卫星。
The state-owned firm that launched it fromSichuan province on June 23rd says the network of BeiDou satellites willfunction fully around the end of July. China sees this as a moment of triumph.It marks the end of the country’s dependence on America for provision of avital service: location data.
6月23日，该卫星从四川顺利升空，负责该项目的国有企业表示，北斗卫星网络将于今年7月底全面投入使用。这也被中国视为一个伟大的时刻，它标志着中国将不再依赖一直以来由美国所提供的一项重要的服务：位置数据。
Satellite-navigation systems work on asimple principle. Each spacecraft uses radio waves to beam the time and itsposition to Earth. Devices that receive simultaneous transmissions from threeor more satellites can use tiny differences in these signals to work out wherethe user is.
卫星导航系统的工作原理很简单。每颗卫星都通过无线电波向地球发送时间及位置信息，接收到3颗或3颗以上卫星信号的设备可以利用信号间的细微差别确定用户所在的位置。
All location satellites broadcast timingdata on the same frequencies, so that a location device could, in theory, lockon to whichever satellites provide the best signal, regardless of whether theybelong to America’s Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia’s GLONASS, Europe’sGalileo or China’s BeiDou.
所有定位卫星都以相同的频率发送定时数据，因此从理论上来说，定位设备可以锁定提供最佳信号的卫星，无论它们属于美国的全球定位系统(GPS)、俄罗斯的格洛纳斯导航系统(GLONASS)、欧洲的伽利略导航系统(Galileo)还是中国的北斗导航系统(BeiDou)。
Work on BeiDou began in 1993 and hasinvolved three phases. The first two provided coverage in China and then acrossthe rest of the Asia-Pacific region. As was the case with GPS, building it hasfocused on military applications.
北斗导航系统的研发始于1993年，共分为三个阶段。在前两个阶段，先是覆盖了中国，而后覆盖了整个亚太地区。和GPS一样，北斗导航系统构建的重点在于军事应用方面。
When the second phase was being tested in2013, the Chinese navy relied on BeiDou data during exercises in the SouthChina Sea, according to state media. The third phase provides global coverage.It also affords more accuracy, and allows users to send short text messages anddistress signals.
据官方媒体报道称，在2013年进行第二阶段测试时，中国海军在南海演习中便使用了北斗导航系统所提供的数据。在第三阶段，北斗导航系统将覆盖全球。它将提供比其他系统更准确的位置信息，并且用户还可以通过该系统发生短信和求救信号。
The completion of BeiDou not onlyeliminates dependency on America. It also puts China ahead technologically.BeiDou’s satellites are more advanced than those of GPS. In the Asia-Pacific,BeiDou claims accuracy to 10cm, compared with 30cm offered by GPS.
北斗导航系统的建成不仅消除了中国对美国的依赖，还使中国在技术上取得了领先的地位。北斗导航系统比GPS更为先进。在亚太地区，北斗导航系统的精度号称可达10厘米，而GPS则为30厘米。
America began upgrading its system in 1997with the deployment of a new generation of satellites known as GPS-3 in 1997.It may take another 15 years to complete this roll-out. China took just fiveyears to finish installing its latest batch of 30 BeiDou satellites, which usetechnology as advanced as GPS-3.
美国从1997年开始对GPS系统进行升级，部署新一代卫星GPS-3，全部完成部署可能还需要15年。而中国仅用5年的时间便完成了最新一批30颗北斗卫星的部署，其所使用的技术比肩GPS-3。
注：双语全文源自经济学人
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