After space satellites launched by tech tycoon Elon Musk’s aerospace venture SpaceX almost crashed with China’s space station twice in the last year, Beijing urged the UN to remind the US to comply by the treaty governing outer space.
- In July and October, China’s space station used collision avoidance control methods to avoid colliding with Starlink satellites, according to the Chinese space agency. Earlier this month, Beijing submitted a report to the United Nations’ Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
- China has requested that the United Nations Secretary-General distribute the above-mentioned information to all Outer Space Treaty states. State parties must also “carry international responsibility” for national actions carried out in space by both government and non-governmental organizations, according to the document.
- SpaceX has launched over 1,600 satellites into space so far, and the US Federal Communications Commission has given them permission to launch up to 12,000 more.
- Collisions are not a rare occurrence in space, but such incidents have increased in recent years. The incident is a reminder that the world has entered a “new era in space”, astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell said. He also added, “Starlink is a big part of that.”
- SpaceX’s Starlink satellite passed over London earlier this year.
- The US space station has had to evade parts from the Chinese military anti-satellite test of 2007 on multiple occasions over the last ten years, according to astronaut Tim Peake.
- He further said that China was a big contributor to space trash as well. It’s not like the Chinese have a perfect track record in our country.
Chinese social media users have accused US private rocket maker SpaceX of stealing their satellites and using them as “American space warfare weapons”. The company has denied the allegations, which were posted on the Chinese social media site Weibo. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.