Launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan, the satellite was boosted by a Long March-3C carrier rocket developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It is the 17th satellite for the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS). The launch marked the beginning of expanding the regional BDS to global coverage. The latest satellite will be tasked with testing a new type of navigation signaling and inter-satellite links, providing a basis to start building the global network, according to the center.