The 29th set of approximately 60 satellites will be part of the Starlink broadband internet network when the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in May 2021.
The Chinese government filed a document with the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space at the United Nations. The Treaty on Principles governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space is known as the Outer Space Treaty. China claims in the document that it had to move its space station twice this year due to the risk of a collision with Starlink satellites.
The document states that the US is responsible for the actions of any nongovernmental activities that are based within their borders.
The document was filed back in December, but it only came to light recently when Chinese Internet users started flaming Musk, the head of SpaceX.
The document starts out with a lengthy sentence that states that the Outer Space Treaty obliges its signatories to inform other nations when they discover any phenomena in space that could pose a risk to astronauts. It shows that China has identified the Starlink satellites as a threat.
Starlink is a satellite-based internet service that was launched earlier this year. To achieve decent coverage, the company has put up a lot of small satellites. The astronomy community is worried that the satellites can potentially photobomb their observations, appearing as long streaks across long exposures.
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Concerns about how the large constellations of satellites could make our space junk problem worse were overshadowed when Russia blew up one of its satellites.
China's complaint seems to be an attempt to get the attention of the world. The country alleges that it had to move the China Space Station out of the way of a Starlink satellite.
The first is a place where the Starlink device had been in the air for over 500 km, but was brought down through a series of maneuvers on June 24th. The China Space Station was close to the new orbit. The space station was moved because China couldn't figure out what the hardware was doing. There was a collision risk between the Starlink-2305 satellite and the China Space Station because the maneuver strategy was unknown.
The US is responsible for any problems that it creates, even though it doesn't exert control over the company. States Parties to the Outer Space Treaty shall bear international responsibility for national activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, whether such activities are carried on by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities, and for assuring that national activities are carried out.
The incidents have not been independently verified, and no one has responded to any requests for comment. The Chinese government would like the US to step in.
