Note A/AC.105/1262 on the official website of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (Source: UNOOSA)
Recently, the official website of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) released a message that on December 3, the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna sent a note verbale to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. It was notified that the Starlink satellite launched by the US SpaceX has twice had a close encounter with the Chinese space station this year, posing a danger to the life and health of astronauts carried on the Chinese space station. For safety reasons, the Chinese space station assembly has taken the initiative to raise the orbit to avoid it.
The full text is as follows:
A/AC.105/1262 Chinese (Source: UNOOSA)
StarLink is a plan proposed in 2014 by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to build a satellite internet that covers the globe. But the network needs to launch tens of thousands of small satellites to form a constellation. The plan was opposed by many space experts, astronomers, and amateurs. In May 2019, the first 60 satellites were launched. According to relevant information, SpaceX has launched more than 1900 satellites so far, of which nearly 1800 are in operation. The project was originally scheduled to launch 12,000 satellites into space, but has now been approved to build about 30,000 more satellites, with a total of 42,000 satellites to be deployed in the future.
Number of StarLink launches (Source: Wikipedia)
The vast majority of Starlink satellites have an orbital altitude of 550 km and an orbital inclination of 53°. However, the complete Starlink program also includes more than 2,000 satellites orbiting 1,000 kilometers and more than 7,000 satellites with an altitude of 330 kilometers.
According to the contents of the note, the starlink satellites involved are "Starlink-1095" and "Starlink-2305". Among them, "Starlink-1095" is actively derating from an altitude of 555 km to 382 km, while the Chinese space station mainly operates in the altitude range of 380 to 395 km, with an orbital inclination of 41.5 °. As a result, the orbits of the two spacecraft, which had no impact, suddenly crossed! (Note: The orbital altitude of the International Space Station is usually between 410 and 420 kilometers) while the Starlink-2305 is "in a continuous orbital maneuvering state, the maneuvering strategy is unknown and the orbital error cannot be assessed", for the sake of safety, the Chinese space station has taken emergency evasion operations.
SpaceX de-orbited the satellite, most likely in a technical test. Some aerospace experts believe that "the possibility of testing China's space perception ability" is not ruled out. We will not over-interpret it here. However, it is undoubtedly extremely threatening and irresponsible to arrange such an operation knowing that a manned spacecraft is operating at this orbital altitude!
The star chain has a huge impact on the astronomical survey observation, and the star chain is photographed in the 2.3° field of view. (Source: DECam DELVE Survey/CTIO/AURA/NSF)
Previously, most of the complaints about starlink satellites were the destruction of the beautiful starry sky, the interference with radio astronomy and the brutal occupation of low-Earth orbit resources. However, it now appears that it has had a substantial impact on low-Earth orbit space and manned space activities, trampling on the international consensus on the peaceful use of space, and is a real harm! It's really time to take care of this hooliganism!