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Hong Kong's "South China Morning Post" December 29 article, original title: Why China reacted strongly to the "Tiangong" space station and the "Starlink" satellite almost collided with the recent situation that Musk's "Starlink" satellite and China's "Tiangong" space station almost collided, highlighting China's concerns about the weaponization of space. Chinese observers say Washington wants to maintain its dominance in space, while Musk's SpaceX has been awarded a contract to build new satellites for the U.S. military that can track the launch of hypersonic missiles. The company could be part of that strategy.
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The two dangerous events in July and October also highlighted concerns about overcrowding satellites in low-Earth orbit and space junk, increasing the risk of serious accidents. The Chinese space station was forced to maneuver to avoid collisions to avoid hitting a U.S. satellite, to which Beijing submitted a note to the United Nations. China has repeatedly demanded that the United States avoid similar incidents and called on Washington to be a "responsible player."
Since 2019, SpaceX has sent more than 1,900 satellites into space, and 42,000 satellites will be in orbit after the program is completed. Military commentator Song Zhongping said that if Musk's satellites occupy most of the (low-Earth and sun-synchronous) orbits, there is little chance for other countries to send satellites. He said the Starlink satellites had the potential to serve the U.S. military in wartime, and the power of having thousands of pairs of eyes in the sky should not be underestimated. Zhou Chenming, a military observer in Beijing, said the Starlink satellite could be modified to track Chinese missiles. However, it will not threaten China in the short term.
A similar incident occurred in 2019, when the European Space Agency had to move an Earth observation satellite to avoid a collision with a Starlink satellite. A report published earlier this year by planetary astronomer Aaron Boley of the University of British Columbia said giant constellations like the StarLink increased the risk of serious (space) accidents. Experts believe that countries should work together to regulate the use of space.
Song Zhongping said China should accelerate the development of its own space technology. On the one hand, China needs to respect leaders like SpaceX. On the other hand, China must develop both space technology and related space defense technology. In doing so, China can at least mitigate the risk of surprises in outer space. At the same time, China should make a strong appeal that outer space should not be militarized and weaponized, and that it should not become a new battlefield.
SpaceX's Starlink Satellite Expansion Plan could face new obstacles as Viasat, a fellow satellite Internet provider, has pleaded with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to block Elon Musk's sprawling expansion. As a competitor, ViaSat blamed Starlink for a potential environmental nightmare, as the latter intends to deploy a network of more than 4,400 satellite clusters in one go, and the antennas of the ground station can be automatically rotated and aligned.
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From the initial package test to the later pilot expansion, SpaceX said it already had 10,000+ subscribers. With progressive launches to fill starchain's placeholder gap, the company will also welcome more subscribers.
From the beginning of 2021 to the present, StarLink has welcomed about 700 new satellites, bringing the total number to 1600. At the same time, the company has also changed its positioning strategy.
Initially SpaceX planned to place 1584 satellites in a 550-kilometer (342-mile) orbit and another 2,825 satellites at a distance of 1,100 to 1,300 kilometers (684 to 826 miles).
Earlier this year, however, the FCC agreed to deploy all satellites into closer orbits, sparking great resentment among several satellite operators, including Viasat.
Viasat believes that commercial deployment revisions should not miss the prior environmental assessment process. Allowing starlink's position adjustment plan will greatly increase interference with other systems.
In an interview with SpaceNews, John Janka, Viasat's director of global governmental and regulatory affairs, said: "We believe that the FCC has failed to comply with NEPA laws to conduct environmental assessment reviews and has not fulfilled the current U.S. administration's commitment to the scientific approach to protecting the Earth's atmosphere, the space climate, and the well-being of U.S. citizens."
Considering that the FCC will subsequently allow thousands of Starlink satellites to be launched into low Earth orbit, Viasat has pleaded with the FCC to suspend the license (frozen until June 1) until the federal court completes its compliance review.
It is reported that SpaceX added 52 satellites to the Starlink cluster on May 15, and plans to carry out the Starlink-28 launch mission (sending 60 satellites into the sky) through the Falcon 9 satellite on Wednesday (May 26) local time.
Although SpaceX has previously reached a new cooperation with NASA to avoid orbital collisions, astronomers are still unhappy about the impact of starlinks on ground-based observations.
Finally, if the FCC chooses not to suspend Starlink's launch, Viasat will seek support from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit to request the suspension and review of the revised FCC license.
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