China has filed a complaint (pdf) to the United Nations on December 6, following maneuvers by its space station, Tianhe, to avoid satellites from Space X’s Starlink program. Zhao Lijian, spokesman for the Empire’s Foreign Ministry Midfielder, called on the United States to ” take immediate action to prevent such incidents from happening again »December 28.
For China, the United States is responsible for the acts of Space X
The facts would have occurred on July 1, 2020, a few days after the arrival of three Taikonauts on board the Tianhe station and on October 21, 2021. The first incident is linked to a change in altitude of a Space X satellite, from 555 kilometers to 382 kilometers. The second maneuver was carried out after several unforeseeable changes in the trajectory of a second satellite. Space X has not commented.
The Oculus app tops the App Store ranking on Christmas Day
China has filed its complaint under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. This text governs the behavior of states in space exploration. It encompasses a set of rules on the launch of spacecraft, the prohibition of placing nuclear weapons in orbit… and responsibility for actions taken in space.
This is a point that China insists on about the incidents with Space X: the direct responsibility of the United States. The country recalls that ” Treaty States assume international responsibility for national activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, whether these activities are carried out by government agencies or non-governmental entities “.
According to the complaint, China views Space X’s Starlink program as a threat to ” the life or health of astronauts “. As an introduction, it mobilizes article V of the treaty, requiring signatory states to report any dangerous phenomenon in space.
An increasingly congested Earth orbit
Space X plans to eventually send 12,000 satellites into low Earth orbits to provide internet service. 1,800 aircraft are already in orbit. This constellation has raised concerns in the scientific community for a long time. Initially, astronomers explained that satellites disrupted their observations.
The risk of collision is also feared. Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in the United States confirmed to theAFP, ” We have seen an increase in the number of collision risks since the start of the Starlink deployment “. Space X’s satellites have an autonomous program to avoid debris or other devices in orbit.
China has not made a specific redress request. She especially asked the Secretary General of the United Nations to remind countries of their obligations in terms of international space law.
The Chinese complaint appears quite legitimate, but China is not only a victim of space congestion, it is also partly responsible for it. In 2007 the Middle Empire destroyed one of its satellites with a missile, creating thousands of debris. Debris that the International Space Station has already had to avoid.
The United States and more recently India, in 2019 and Russia in 2021, have carried out similar operations exacerbating the accumulation of space debris in orbit. Between this debris and the proliferation of constellation projects, it is time to put order above our heads.