The China Academy of Space Technology has announced plans to launch the world's first X-ray pulsar navigation satellite (XPNAV－1) in November, Xinhua reported.据新华社报道，中国空间技术研究院已经宣布，计划将于11月份发射全球首颗X射线脉冲星导航卫星（XPNAV－1）。The move brings autonomous spacecraft navigation and a more precise deep-space GPS one step closer to reality.这一举措将使得航天器自主导航、以及更加准确的深度空间GPS定位进一步接近现实。X-ray pulsar navigation is an innovative navigation technique wherein periodic X-ray signals emitted from pulsars are used to determine the location of a spacecraft in deep space.X射线脉冲星导航是一种创新性的导航技术，其中脉冲射电源可以发出周期性的X射线信号，可以用来在深度空间中确定航天器的位置。

Current ground-based navigation methods are limited by the time delay between spacecraft and the Earth.由于航天器和地面接收器之间的时间延迟，目前的地面导航技术受到了极大的限制。However, for certain type of pulsars, called "millisecond pulsars," pulses of radiation occur with the regularity and precision of an atomic clock.但是使用被称之为“毫秒脉冲射电源”的装置，脉冲辐射可以具有和原子钟一样的规律性和精度。As a result, in some scenarios, the pulsar X-ray can take less time to estimate a location. This leads to more precise measurements of a spacecraft's location.因此，在某些情况之下，X射线脉冲射电源可以用更少的时间来估测物体的位置。这就导致了对航天器位置的更精确测量。However, since X-rays from pulsars are absorbed by the atmosphere, scientists must launch satellites to continue research of the new technology.然而，由于脉冲射电源发出的X射线能够被大气所吸收，所以科学家们必须发射卫星来对这一新技术继续进行研究。According to Shuai Ping, chief scientist behind the research of XPNAV-1 satellite, the key aim of this satellite is to detect the details of X-ray signals of 26 nearby pulsars, and to create a "pulsar navigation database."据XPNAV-1卫星研究项目首席科学家帅平表示，这颗卫星的主要目的是要检测地球附近26颗脉冲星的X射线信号详细信息，建立一个“脉冲导航数据库”。This target could be achieved within five to 10 years, Shuai estimates.据帅平估计，这一目标可以在5到10年之间完成。