Beidou steps up its mission to 'lay out the stars'

Scientist and his 300-strong team have their eyes on global satellite coverage by 2020

For the past 20 years, Wang Feixue and his team have been working on China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System. Now the pace is being stepped up to "lay out the stars" and form a constellation of satellites orbiting the Earth.

On March 30, the Beidou system sent its first satellite into orbit, marking the first stage of its upgrade from a regional service to global coverage by 2020.