China lodges complaint after alleged near miss with Musk’s SpaceX satellites

A file photo of a Chinese space station (Photo: AP)
A file photo of a Chinese space station (Photo: AP)

Summary

Beijing said the incidents occurred in July and October, and forced astronauts to take action to avoid collision

HONG KONG : China filed a complaint to the United Nations after Chinese astronauts aboard the country’s space station had to take emergency action earlier this year to avoid colliding with satellites launched by SpaceX, the company founded by billionaire Elon Musk.

The two Starlink satellites came close to the space station in July and October, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Tuesday in Beijing. At the time, Chinese astronauts were conducting missions on the station, which had to adopt emergency measures to avoid collisions, he said.

In a July presentation to the Federal Communications Commission, SpaceX said it had so far launched around 1,800 Starlink satellites and was active in more than 20 countries.

It plans to rapidly boost the pace of satellite launches in the years ahead. In commission filings, Space X has said it wants to add at least around 30,000 more satellites.

The developments come as a space race accelerates between the U.S. and China and as traffic in low Earth orbit becomes increasingly cluttered. China has been barred by U.S. law from working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for a decade, and has since pursued its own increasingly bold space program. It began construction of a space station earlier this year, aiming for completion by the end of 2022.

Mr. Zhao cited the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which stipulates that all countries should respect and protect the safety of astronauts. He said the Chinese government notified the U.N. Secretary-General of the near misses on Dec. 3.

“The United States keeps proclaiming the so-called concept of responsibility in outer space, but it ignores international treaty obligations and poses a serious threat to the safety of astronauts," Mr. Zhao said. “This is typical double standards."

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., the formal name for the company Mr. Musk founded almost two decades ago, didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

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