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The astronauts waved their hands during the spacewalk out of the core module of the space station.
The photo was taken by Tian Dingyu/Xinhua.
China filed a complaint with the United Nations this month, claiming that it had to conduct evasive maneuvers of its space station in order to avoid a collision with two of the internet-beaming Starlink satellites. China wants the UN Secretary General to remind countries of their obligations under international space law, though it did not specify what actions it wants to take.
The complaint states that on July 1st, 2020 and October 21st, 2021 China had to maneuver the core module of its space station, called Tianhe, out of the way of two separate Starlink satellites. The three Chinese astronauts living on the station just arrived a few days before the October maneuver.
China didn't specify what actions it wanted to take.
The Outer Space Treaty, an international agreement that governs how countries should explore space, requires China to report the incidents to the UN. The Treaty offers a set of loose guidelines and rules for countries to follow when launching people to space, such as prohibiting the placement of nuclear weapons in space and making the exploration of space a peaceful enterprise. The treaty states that participating countries are responsible for all of the actions they take in space, including those by their commercial companies. China wants everyone to remember that.
The complaint is about something.
China wishes to request the Secretary-General of the United Nations to circulate the above- mentioned information to all States Parties to the Outer Space Treaty.
The Starlink initiative is a project by the company that calls for launching nearly 12,000 satellites into low Earth orbit in order to beam internet coverage to the ground below. More than 1,900 Starlink satellites have been launched by the company so far.
Space trackers are concerned about how the Starlink satellites will affect Earth's space environment and the likelihood of collision with other satellites already in space. There have been reports of satellites having to move out of the way of Starlink vehicles to avoid crashes. The Starlink satellites have their own collision avoidance software that allows them to leave the way of another vehicle or piece of debris.
This isn't the first time a space station has had to maneuver out of the way of a satellite.
Two Starlink satellites changed their altitudes in space, which led to China's two avoidance maneuvers. The first one in 2020 was after the Starlink satellite moved from its long-held position. China claims the second Starlink satellite that caused trouble was constantly maneuvering, making it hard to know where it was headed. China decided to do a maneuver to avoid a collision because of the astronauts on board. The company did not reply to the request.
This isn't the first time a space station has had to maneuver out of the way of a satellite. The International Space Station is increasing its altitude to avoid potential accidents. In November, the astronauts on board the International Space Station had to shelter in place after Russia destroyed one of its own satellites. Thousands of pieces of debris were created by the test and may pose a threat to the space station for a long time.
The International Space Station has collision avoidance maneuvers that are performed by China. Thousands of pieces of debris were created when China destroyed one of its own satellites. The International Space Station has had to move out of the way to avoid the leftovers over the last decade. China is getting a taste of what it's like to be in space.
