At 1:56 on March 30, 2018, China successfully launched the thirty-first and thirty-first Beidou navigation satellites from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center with a Long March-3B carrier rocket (and the upper stage of the Expedition 1). The two satellites belong to the medium Earth orbit satellites, which are the seventh and eighth networking satellites of China's Beidou No. 3.

After more than three hours of flight, the satellite entered the working orbit after orbit control and phase acquisition. It will conduct integration tests and network operation with the six previously launched Beidou-3 satellites.

According to the plan, the Beidou navigation satellite system will serve countries and regions along the Belt and Road by the end of 2018.

The Beidou navigation satellite and its supporting carrier rocket (and the upper stage of the Yuan-1) were respectively developed by the Academy of Micro-Satellite Innovation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. It was the 269th flight of the Long March rocket.