China’s rocket break-up sends space junk flying near Starlink orbit

Beijing spokeswoman says space stations are unlikely to be affected by debris, confirming incident

The Long March 6A was delivering an ocean observation satellite when it disintegrated on Saturday

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A group of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites captured in
a long-exposure image as they pass over the Earth at an orbit of 500km (310 miles). Photo: AFP

Published: 5:21pm, 15 Nov 2022Updated: 9:32pm, 15 Nov 2022

The Chinese government confirmed on Monday that a spent Long March rocket broke up and scattered debris in a near-Earth orbit close to many of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites.

Responding to a question from The New York Times at a press conference in Beijing, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning acknowledged reports of the incident on November 12.

According to the US Space Force, the Long March 6A rocket was between 500 to 700km (310 to 435 miles) from Earth when it disintegrated into more than 50 fragments.

The 500km orbit is used by thousands of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites while the International Space Station and China’s Tiangong space station operate at slightly lower altitudes.

“As far as we know, the relevant incident will not affect the Chinese space station or the International Space Station,” Mao said, without providing any further detail.

In reports ahead of the launch on Saturday, Chinese state media said the modified version of the Long March 6 was carrying a Yunhai-3 ocean observation satellite – equipped with some of the latest surveillance technologies – into an unspecified orbit.

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