A centerpiece project, Beidou 2, began in January 2015. Eventually 35 Beidou 2 satellites will form the next generation platforms for the Compass satellite navigation system that China is rapidly deploying into geosynchronous and medium earth orbit. Beidou 2 is more accurate than its predecessor, Beidou 1, with an accuracy of up to 10 centimeters for military subscribers like the Chinese and Pakistani militaries. While its American counterpart, GPS, is a transmit only system, Beidou users can use the satellite navigation system to send limited messages. Beidou 2 would provide Chinese missiles and robots with high accuracy, as well as giving Chinese soldiers a limited but universal coverage for communications.

China is also taking a major step in space debris management by launching a center to track such debris. While space debris isn't nearly as sexy as spy or navigation satellites, it's an important part of space operations. Space debris, of which there are 500,000 pieces large enough to be tracked, can severely damage or destroy satellites and spacecraft (a 1 square cm piece of debris travelling at 17,000 kph has as much kinetic energy as a hand grenade detonation).