The US may use this to probe China's space perception capabilities and test whether china can accurately grasp their actions.
The official website of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space recently released a message that on December 3, the Chinese Permanent Mission to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna sent a note verbale to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, informing them that the Starlink satellite launched by the US Space Exploration Technology Corporation (SpaceX Company) has approached the Chinese space station twice this year, posing a threat to the lives and health of astronauts on the Chinese space station.
According to the information released by the note, for safety reasons, the Chinese space station assembly implemented preventive collision avoidance control ("emergency collision avoidance") on the US Starlink satellite on July 1 and October 21, respectively.
For the two incidents disclosed by the Chinese side, aerospace experts said in an interview with reporters on the 27th that SpaceX's starlink satellites de-orbited and threatened the Chinese space station did not rule out the possibility of testing China's space perception capabilities. At present, there are voices in the global space community questioning the brutal development of the US Starlink system.
The Chinese side reported that in 2021, China's manned space project carried out five launch missions, and successfully launched the space station Tianhe core module, Tianzhou-2 and Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft, Shenzhou XII and Shenzhou XIII manned spacecraft into orbit. The Chinese space station assembly is stable in a near-circular orbit near an altitude of 390 kilometers, with an orbital inclination of about 41.5 degrees.
During this period, SpaceX launched a Starlink satellite that approached the Chinese space station twice. For safety reasons, the space station assembly implemented preventive collision avoidance control (i.e., "emergency collision avoidance") for the US Starlink satellites on July 1 and October 21, respectively.
First emergency avoidance
The Starlink-1095 satellite has been operating stably since April 19, 2020, in an orbit with an average altitude of about 555 kilometers. From May 16 to June 24, 2021, the satellite continued to de-orbit maneuver to an average orbital altitude of 382 kilometers, and remained operating at that orbital altitude. On July 1, the satellite experienced a close-up event between the Chinese space station. For safety reasons, the Chinese space station took the initiative to avoid collisions on the evening of July 1, avoiding the risk of collision between the two targets.
Second emergency avoidance
On October 21, 2021, the Starlink-2305 satellite had a close proximity incident with the Chinese space station. Given that the satellite is in a continuous orbit maneuver, the maneuvering strategy is unknown and the orbital error cannot be assessed, and there is a risk of collision with the space station. In order to ensure the safety of astronauts in orbit, the Chinese space station once again implemented emergency collision avoidance on the same day, avoiding the risk of collision between the two targets.
The reporter noted that when the two starlink satellites approached the Chinese space station, the latter was in a state of being on duty with Chinese astronauts. In other words, SpaceX's move directly threatens the life safety of Chinese astronauts.
According to reports, article 5 of the Outer Space Treaty concluded in 1967 stipulates that "each State party shall immediately notify the other States parties or the Secretary-General of the United Nations of any phenomenon detected in outer space (including the moon and other celestial bodies) that poses a threat to the life or health of astronauts." "Therefore, China informed the UN Secretary-General of the relevant situation.
Expert: Or use this to explore China's space perception capabilities
Aerospace expert Huang Zhicheng said in an interview with reporters on the 27th that the starlink satellites launched by SpaceX are currently running in an orbit of 550 kilometers. According to the contents of the Chinese note, the two "emergency collision avoidance" of the Chinese space station were due to the de-orbit of SpaceX's starlink satellite, which may be aimed at enhancing the communication performance of the satellite constellation in local areas. In SpaceX's planning, the company is preparing to deploy a large number of satellites in an orbit of 330 kilometers. In addition, there is a possibility that the United States will use this to probe China's space perception capabilities and test whether the Chinese side can accurately grasp their actions.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, proposed the "Starlink" program in 2014 to try to build a satellite internet covering the whole world and send the first 60 satellites into space in 2019. SpaceX has launched nearly 1,900 Starlink satellites so far. The project plans to launch 12,000 satellites into space, with the possibility of launching another 30,000 more in the future. Huang Zhicheng said that at present, SpaceX companies are launching satellites with an orbital altitude of about 550 kilometers, and they are also preparing to launch more than 2,000 satellites in an orbit of about 1,000 kilometers. In addition, more than 7,000 satellites are ready to be deployed in orbits 330 km above ground.
Huang Zhicheng believes that the dense satellite network set up by SpaceX will undoubtedly pose a threat to spacecraft in other countries. The space community is currently concerned about the military application of starlink satellites, because after more than 40,000 satellites are deployed, the normal space launches of other countries will be affected. The notification of the starlink's lower orbit not only increases the danger of the Chinese space station, but also may collide with spacecraft from other countries. The British research team has previously warned: "SpaceX's Starlink satellites will be involved in about 1600 spacecraft approaching events every week; at least 500 of them are close to Starlink and other national spacecraft, even including dangerous situations where the distance between the two is less than 1 kilometer." According to reports, SpaceX has had a precedent of starlink satellites lowering orbit and threatening the International Space Station, "but NASA and SpaceX have entered into an agreement stipulating that all responsibility for collisions is borne by SpaceX, and the latter must notify NASA a week before the satellite makes maneuvers." ”
According to The Note by the Chinese Side, the Chinese side currently requests the Secretary-General of the United Nations to inform the States parties to the Outer Space Treaty of the relevant situation and to draw the attention of the States Parties to the fact that the activities carried out in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, whether by relevant government departments or non-governmental organizations, are internationally responsible and should be responsible for ensuring that the implementation of their activities complies with the provisions of this Treaty.
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Source: China News Network