Not long ago, it was reported that the US satellites were inoculated with the Chinese space station twice in July and October last year to "touch the porcelain", making the Chinese space station have to take emergency collision avoidance measures. It is understood that the satellite that almost collided with the Chinese space station at that time was launched by Musk's SpaceX company, and it was also a satellite in Musk's "Starlink" program.
After this incident, the outside world criticized SpaceX, and even the European Space Agency issued a condemnation that the satellites launched by SpaceX occupy too much space in space. Aschbach, the new director of the European Space Agency, believes that Musk is setting the rules for space on his own and calls on European leaders to stop helping Musk dominate the space economy.
However, Musk argues that space is quite large, while satellites are very small. Musk believes that in the vast space, enough to accommodate tens of billions of satellites, like the 2 billion cars indicated by Earth, the satellites launched by SpaceX are now fully capable of "coexisting" with many other satellites. But one astrophysicist countered that unlike cars, satellites need larger clearances in space to avoid collisions. Many other scientists are beginning to worry that the risk of satellite impacts is increasing as low-Earth orbit becomes more crowded.
It is understood that the current "Starlink" program planned by SpaceX has launched about 1900 satellites, and if the plan is finally completed, the number of satellites they will launch will be as many as 42,000 or so. In addition, the satellites launched in the "Starlink" program are basically operating in an orbit about 550 kilometers away from the earth, while the orbital altitude of China's Tiangong space station is about 390 kilometers, and the orbital height of the International Space Station is about 410 kilometers. As long as one satellite makes a mistake, it may break into the orbit of the Tiangong space station or the International Space Station, and thus collide with it.
In addition, in addition to the two major space stations and the "Starlink" satellite, there are also satellite swarms launched by other companies such as Amazon, One Net Corporation, and "Dianxing" satellites in space, which also greatly improves the possibility of space satellites getting out of control.
Experts at the University of British Columbia in Canada have published in the journal Nature that the risk posed by large constellations of satellites such as the Starlink satellite in low Earth orbit and the Earth's atmosphere is increasing significantly. Even if these satellites are anti-collision, they will still make low-Earth orbit crowded. At present, no one in space has the "first right" or the "safe distance" set, and in addition, there is no proper communication channel, it is no wonder that the Tiangong space station will file a complaint with the United Nations after it was almost collided.
It is reported that among China's litigation claims to the United Nations, it includes a request to strengthen communication with the United States on the space issue. The outside world also believes that China and the United States should indeed strengthen communication between each other and private companies in space affairs to reduce the risk of accidents.