Recently, the incident of the US Starlink satellite "touching porcelain" on the Chinese space station twice was exposed, causing heated discussion. While condemning the US space hegemony, people are also worried about whether China's space industry will be hindered. In this regard, the author believes that the space "touching porcelain" incident cannot stop China's peaceful use of space.
On December 27, 2021, after about 6 hours, the Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew successfully completed all the scheduled tasks for the second time in the year. Photo by Guo Zhongzheng (Xinhua News Agency)
First of all, this dangerous behavior is a threat to the cause of space exploration for all mankind and is opposed by the global space community.
The starlink satellite launched by the US SpaceX has approached the Chinese space station twice in 2021, posing a threat to the lives and health of astronauts carried by the Chinese space station. For security reasons, the Chinese space station assembly implemented "emergency collision avoidance" for the US Starlink satellites twice on July 1 and October 21, 2021.
Starlink satellites threaten more than just the security of the Chinese space station. The U.S. Starlink project plans to launch 42,000 satellites to form a super giant constellation, and nearly 2,000 satellites have been launched so far. The plan has destroyed beautiful starry and optical observations, interfered with radio astronomy research, and brutally occupied valuable low-Earth orbit resources, and has been controversial in recent years, and experts in the astronomical and aerospace industries in various countries have criticized it. British researchers also found that since the first launch of the Starlink satellite in May 2019, the spacecraft approach event has more than doubled, and at least half of the spacecraft proximity events are related to the Starlink satellite.
The Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft and the Tianhe core module successfully rendezvoused and docked independently and successfully, and together with the previously docked Tianzhou-2 and Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft, they formed a four-cabin (ship) combination. (Xinhua News Agency)
There is much help for the way, and little help for the wrong way. The United States ignores the obligations of the international treaties on outer space and uses dangerous means to "race around" in space, which is equivalent to driving drunk and driving backwards on the highway, threatening public safety and causing public indignation.
After destroying the space security environment, the United States cannot be left alone. American scientist Donald M. K. Kessler proposed the "Kessler phenomenon" in 1978. The theory assumes that when moving objects in low Earth orbit reach a certain density, the debris generated by the collision of these objects can cause more new impacts, forming a cascading effect, and the low Earth orbit will be covered by dangerous space junk. The loss of a safe orbit will prevent space exploration and the use of artificial satellites for hundreds of years to come.
Second, China has been studying the peaceful and safe use of space technology and is a responsible space power.
Putting a large number of low-cost satellites into low-Earth orbit like StarLink to "occupy the pit" is not a terrible technology. China has rocket rapid launch technology and one-arrow multi-satellite technology, and it is not difficult to "occupy the pit". China's planned constellation system is similar to the broadband service that Starlink can provide, but it takes a small number and high-quality boutique route, reflecting China's sense of responsibility for efforts to reduce the manufacture of space junk.
On the 1st, the "New Year's Day Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Tiangong Dialogue" activity was held. Photo by Jin Liangkuai (Xinhua News Agency)
The orbital altitude of the Chinese space station is about 400 kilometers, and the normal operating orbit altitude of the US Starlink satellite is more than 500 kilometers, and the two have not crossed and overlapped. The safety of the Chinese space station is threatened because the orbit of the relevant starlink satellites has been reduced in an abnormal situation. The space station operates at a speed of nearly 8 kilometers per second, and at such a fast speed, colliding with objects with a diameter of more than 10 centimeters, the space station will be destroyed. The Chinese space station is flexible in size and avoids space touching porcelain twice, reflecting China's superb space perception ability and obstacle avoidance ability.
The low-cost and efficient cleaning of space junk is a technological challenge facing mankind, and China is also conducting related research. On October 24, 2021, three days after the second "emergency collision avoidance" of the Chinese space station, we successfully launched the Shijian-21 satellite, which was mainly used for space debris mitigation technology test verification.
The construction of the space station is an important milestone in China's space industry. Facing the future, China will certainly make more pioneering contributions to the peaceful use of space by mankind, and will never stop moving forward because space "touches porcelain".
Source: Economic Daily