Elon Musk Criticized for Starlink Satellites Nearly Colliding with China’s Space Station
According to a document sent by China to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs in early December, satellites from Starlink Internet Services, a division of SpaceX, nearly collided with the Tiangong Space Station on two occasions. These incidents reportedly occurred on July 1 and October 21.
“To ensure safety, the Tiangong Space Station took preventive measures to avoid collisions,” China stated in its document regarding outer space issues submitted to the UN.
Elon Musk criticized for ignoring China’s space station. (Photo: The Times).
Although the report was submitted in early December, it gained widespread attention on China’s Weibo social media platform on December 27. Immediately, Elon Musk faced backlash from Chinese netizens who accused his company of potentially endangering their space station.
In a post on December 27, one Weibo account referred to Starlink satellites as “space junk.” Meanwhile, another user described them as “America’s space warfare weapons.”
Currently, with nearly 30,000 satellites and other debris believed to be orbiting the planet, many scientists have called on governments to share data to reduce the risk of satellite collisions.
Specifically for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the company has deployed nearly 1,900 satellites to support the Starlink broadband network and plans to launch even more satellites.
“The risks of Starlink are gradually being exposed; humanity will have to pay the price for their business activities,” a user named Chen Haiying expressed on Weibo.
Meanwhile, the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was forced to halt a spacewalk at the end of November due to the potential danger posed by space debris. In response, Musk stated on Twitter that his company had adjusted the orbits of some Starlink satellites to reduce the likelihood of collisions.
On China’s side, they began implementing their space station construction plan in April by launching the Tianhe module. This project is expected to be completed by 2022, realizing China’s ambition to create a second space station alongside the International Space Station (ISS).
On Chinese social media, Elon Musk has frequently become the center of discussions. Previously, in April, a customer climbed on top of a Tesla vehicle at the Shanghai Auto Show to protest the company’s poor customer service.
