US-China tensions rise after SpaceX satellites narrowly miss China space station

0
74
US-China tensions fueled after SpaceX satellites narrowly miss China space station

Dec 29, 2021: According to a Bloomberg report, a pair of dangerously close space encounters between SpaceX satellites and China space station are increasing tensions between the United States and China, while pointing out the potential danger to astronauts as satellite bridges and debris are spreading into orbit.

Earlier this year, two SpaceX satellites disappeared near the Chinese space station – one within 4 kilometers- in the latest sign of dangerous overcrowding in the Earth’s orbit.

In both cases, the orbiting lab made evasive measures to avoid the StarLink satellite, which was powered by Elon Musk’s space project. According to data compiled by astronomer Jonathan McDowell, the margin of the near miss in October could have been reduced to a few hundred meters if the astronauts on the space station had not moved to different heights.

Close encounters prompted the Chinese government to criticize SpaceX in a memo sent to a UN committee overseeing operations in space on December 6. China’s complaint could signal global action on space management.

In the most recent incident, China’s memo cites Starlink-1095, which had operated at an average altitude of 555 kilometers earlier this year, before descending to 382 kilometers and having a “close encounter” with the China Space Station on July 1. An incident with a separate Starlink satellite occurred Oct. 21.

Following the near miss collision, the Chinese government alerted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Dec. 3, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Tuesday at a press briefing in Beijing and said that the U.S. isn’t meeting its obligations under the Outer Space Treaty.

McDowell says though China itself is generating so much debris and hence coming from them the complaint to the UN is a bit “rich” but that it is a good sign nevertheless.

According to McDowell, by flagging the issue before a UN panel, China could encourage the international community to update a Cold War-period agreement, as well as an informal system that relies on operators to email warnings of potential collisions to each other,

McDowell counts more than 4,800 commercial satellites, almost double the number five years ago, with a field of debris of about 19,000 objects that could be tracked on radar.

The International Space Station, of which the United States is a partner, encountered its own near-misses in November, with debris fields created by Russia and China’s 2007 anti-satellite weapons experiments.

Up until this point, most satellites beamed signals from fixed locations far above the stretch of space where the International Space Station and China Space Station operate.But after the entry of multiple space players with smaller satellites offering internet broadband orbiting at lwer attitudes, this is changing.

SpaceX, unlike geostationary satellites, which has launched more than 1,700 of its own satellites as it builds a telecommunications arm to help fund other company forays into deep space, can be maneuvered and come equipped with anti-collision technology.

After the near miss incidents, SpaceX didn’t respond to inquiries.

Earlier this year, China launched the Shenzhou-13 spaceship on Oct. 16, sending three astronauts on a six-month mission to the country’s Tianhe space station.

The US State Department meanwhile declined to comment specifically on SpaceX events. “We urge all countries with space programs to be responsible actors, to refrain from actions that could cause astronauts, astronauts and other people to orbit the Earth,” department spokesman Ned Price said in a briefing on Tuesday.

The space feud between the United States and China has heated up in recent years. A top Chinese scientist said this month that his country could be able to send astronauts to the moon for the first time by 2030, creating the possibility of a bilateral mission between the world’s two best financed space powers.

Stay tuned to BaaghiTV for latest news and Updates!

Egypt has “digitally unwrapped” the mummy of famed Pharaoh Amenhotep I

 

 

Leave a reply