According to documents published on the official website of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations (Vienna) submitted a note verbale to the Secretary-General of the United Nations in early December, stating that:The Starlink satellites launched by the US Space Exploration Technology Corporation (SpaceX) have approached the Chinese Space Station twice this year, posing a danger to the lives and health of the astronauts carried by the Chinese Space Station. For safety reasons, the Chinese space station complex has implemented “emergency collision avoidance” twice against the relevant US satellites.
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Screenshot of the information released on the official website of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
Screenshot of part of the Chinese side’s note
The note stated that in 2021, China’s manned space project carried out 5 launch missions, successfully manning the space station Tianhe core module, Tianzhou 2 and Tianzhou 3 cargo spacecraft, Shenzhou 12 and Shenzhou 13 The spacecraft was launched into orbit. The Chinese space station assembly is steadily operating in a near-circular earth orbit near an altitude of 390 kilometers, with an orbital inclination of about 41.5°.
During this period, the Starlink (star1ink) satellite launched by the US Space Exploration Technology Corporation (SpaceX) approached the Chinese Space Station twice. For safety reasons, the space station assembly implemented preventive collision avoidance control (“emergency collision avoidance”) on the US Starlink satellites on July 1 and October 21, respectively. Details are as follows:
First emergency collision avoidance
The Starlink-1095 satellite has been operating stably in an orbit with an average altitude of about 555 kilometers since April 19, 2020. From May 16 to June 24, 2021, the satellite continued to de-orbit and maneuver to an average orbital height of 382 kilometers, and then kept moving at that orbital height. On July 1, there was a close approach event between the satellite and the Chinese space station. For safety reasons, the Chinese Space Station took the initiative to take the initiative to avoid collisions on the evening of July 1, avoiding the risk of collision between the two targets.
Second emergency collision avoidance
On October 21, 2021, the Starlink-2305 satellite of the United States and the Chinese Space Station had a close approach event. Given that the satellite is in a continuous orbital maneuvering state, the maneuvering strategy is unknown and the orbit error cannot be evaluated, and there is a risk of collision with the space station. In order to ensure the safety of astronauts in orbit, the Chinese Space Station once again implemented emergency collision avoidance on the same day, avoiding the risk of collision between the two targets.
The note pointed out that China requested the Secretary-General of the United Nations to inform all the parties to the Outer Space Treaty of the above-mentioned situation, and to draw the attention of all parties. According to Article 6 of the Outer Space The activities carried out by government organizations in outer space (including the moon and other celestial bodies) shall bear international responsibilities and shall be responsible for ensuring that the implementation of their own activities conforms to the provisions of this treaty.
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