China's satellite navigation plans threaten Galileo 13:34 08 November 2006 NewScientist.com news service Paul Marks China's decision to expand the functionality of its satellite navigation network could undermine the economics of Europe's nascent Galileo system, according to sources close to the project. Until now, experts believed that China's "Beidou" navigation system ? a 35-satellite constellation ? would only be used by its armed forces. This explained China's decision to invest ?200 million in Europe's ?2.5 billion Galileo programme. But things appear to have changed in Beijing. On 2 November, the country's official news agency Xinhua reported that Beidou would, from...