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Beijing has warned the United Nations that the rapid expansion of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit “poses a clear threat to the Earth.” SecurityIssues of global concern.
“along with Commercial space activity expands rapidlyThe wanton proliferation of commercial satellite constellations by individual countries in the absence of effective supervision has raised obvious security challenges. “A Chinese representative said at an informal event at the United Nations Security Council.
Cited by Beijing representative several incidentsincluding the near-collision of a Starlink satellite with the Chinese Space Station in 2021.
When talking about SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, the representative said, “Such constellations crowd out frequency orbit resources [data shared by all satellites in orbit for communication] and significantly increases the risk of collision,” the South China Morning Post first reported.
Several recent studies have warned that in the era of mega-constellations such as SpaceX’s Starlink probe, as the number of satellites in orbit rapidly increases, so does the likelihood of satellite collisions.
Currently, as many as 8,500 of the 12,955 active satellites are operating in low-Earth orbit, more than 66% of which belong to the SpaceX Starlink constellation.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the Starlink constellation could eventually have more than 42,000 satellites, and the company currently has approval to launch 12,000 satellites.
Each satellite is designed to last five years before being intentionally burned up in Earth’s atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Chinese projects including Qianfan Broadband Network plan to launch their own mega-constellations of internet satellites to compete with SpaceX.
Shanghai’s state-backed project aims to mass produce and launch more than 15,000 satellites by 2030 to provide global broadband coverage.
Since 2018, low-Earth orbit has become increasingly crowded, and Chinese representatives have called on all countries to strengthen supervision of commercial space activities.
The diplomat said a Starlink satellite in 2021 “made a dangerously close approach to the Chinese space station… posing a serious threat to the safety of Chinese astronauts.”
“This certainly poses a significant risk for spacecraft operated by developing countries that lack orbital control capabilities, space situational awareness or adequate reaction time,” the unnamed representative said in a statement.
SpaceX did not immediately respond independentRequest for comment.
Beijing also warned that the increasing use of commercial satellites for reconnaissance and battlefield communications “exacerbated the risk of an arms race in outer space.”
The diplomat implicitly called on the United States to “strengthen regulation and supervision of its commercial space activities and respond to the concerns of the international community.”