Every move in space is made by mutual understanding between different countries and space agencies. However, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites have been launched twice this year against the Chinese space station. The station was elevated to avoid a major catastrophe as it was able to detect the coming of the moons in advance. China submitted a document to the UN Outer Space Affairs Office earlier this month.

According to UN documents, China completed five launch missions in 2021. The space station’s Tianhe core module Tianzho-2, Tianjou-3 cargo spacecraft, Shenzo-13 and Shenzhou-14 crude spacecraft were successfully launched into orbit. China’s space station orbits in a stable circular orbit at an altitude of about 390 km at an inclination of about 41.5 degrees.

However, the StarLink satellites launched by SpaceX on July 1 and October 21 were orbiting the Chinese space station. The document also states that the orbit of the collision avoidance plant was changed.

Huang Sicheng, a senior expert in aerospace science and technology, told the Global Times that the StarLink satellites launched by SpaceX are always orbiting at an altitude of 550 km. However, Huang said the move could not rule out the possibility of China testing its capabilities in space to accurately diagnose existing satellite threats.

Since April 19, 2020, the Starlink-1095 satellite has been in a stable orbit at an average altitude of 555 km. Between May 16 and June 24, 2021, the Starlink-1095 satellite entered a continuous orbit of 382 km. And then continued in that orbit. On July 1, 2021, the Starlink-1095 satellite orbited China’s space station.

On October 21, 2021, the Starlink-2355 satellite landed near China’s space station. Because the satellite is constantly changing its orbit, Chinese researchers are unable to understand anything exactly. Sudden changes in the orbits of the moons are difficult to predict. Therefore, the possibility of a collision between the Starlink-2105 satellite and the space station was high.

About 30,000 moons and other debris orbit the Earth. As a result, scientists are urging other countries to share data to reduce the risk of catastrophic space collisions. SpaceX alone has deployed about 1,900 satellites for the Starlink broadband network, and plans to launch more. All this will be a big headache in the future.

English Summary: SpaceX satellites may collide with Chinese space station as a conscious experiment