China on Tuesday accused the United States of a “serious threat” to the safety of its astronauts, after stating that two billionaire satellites Elon Musk they came close to colliding with the Beijing space station.
The Chinese space station Tiangong had to carry out “preventive controls to avoid collisions” during two “close encounters” with the Starlink satellites of SpaceX in July and October, according to a document submitted by Beijing this month to the UN space agency.
On both occasions, the satellites they entered orbits that forced space station operators to change course, the document noted.
SpaceX, based in California, did not immediately comment on this information.
Chinese social media users lashed out at Musk and their companies for the incidents, and a proposal to boycott them reached 87 million views Tuesday morning.
In ChinaTesla electric cars made by the American billionaire’s company are widely accepted.
“How ironic that the Chinese buy (cars) Tesla, bringing in large sums of money so Musk can launch Starlink and then (almost) collide with China’s space station, “commented one user.
“Get ready to boycott Tesla,” said another, in a typical response in China to foreign brands seen as contrary to Beijing’s national interests.
Some speculated that Washington would have imposed sanctions if the roles had been reversed.
According to China, which avoided attacking Musk, the United States failed to meet its “international obligations” in space.
“This constitutes a serious threat to the life and safety of Chinese astronauts,” a spokesman for Chinese diplomacy, Zhao Lijian, lashed out at the press.
In the document delivered to the UN, China indicated in reference to the October incident that “the maneuvering strategy was not known and orbital errors are difficult to assess.” He said he acted to “ensure the safety and lives of the astronauts.”
Tiangong, which means “heavenly palace,” is the latest achievement in China’s effort to become a space power, after landing a robot on Mars and sending probes to the Moon.
The station’s core module entered orbit months ago and should be fully operational by 2022. Two crews of three astronauts each have succeeded on board since June.
Evasive maneuvers become more frequent as more objects saturate the near-Earth orbit and force trajectory adjustments to avoid accidents, said Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
“We have really noticed an increase in the number of nearby passes since the Starlink began shipping,” he told AFP, adding that a collision would “completely destroy” the space station and kill everyone on board.
Musk is admired in China but the reputation of Tesla, which sells tens of thousands of cars a month in the country, has waned after a series of accidents, scandals and concerns about data storage.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx