SpaceX satellites’ encounters with Chinese space station were not emergencies, US says
- Note to UN denies claims in a previous note from China that the station had to take evasive action, and says China failed to communicate
- US Space Command sends warnings, including to China, of dangerously close approaches, but the encounters with Tiangong were not in that category, it says
In December, China sent a note verbale – an unsigned message less formal than a diplomatic note – to the United Nations to complain that there had been “close encounters” last July and October when internet satellites approached the Tiangong station in orbit.
However, the US side has responded with its own note verbale, saying that neither incident referred to by China amounted to an emergency.
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“Because the activities did not meet the threshold of established emergency collision criteria, emergency notifications were not warranted in either case,” said the note, sent to the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs in Vienna and dated January 28.
“If there had been a significant probability of collision involving the [space station], the United States would have provided a close approach notification directly to the designated Chinese point of contact.”