Near collisions in space: China outraged by Elon Musk

The People’s Republic is mad at Musk and the United States because the Tiangong space station allegedly almost collided with satellites owned by SpaceX in two cases. China has therefore lodged a complaint.

The incidents are said to have occurred in July and October: The government of the People’s Republic says that the Chinese Tiangong space station had to change course twice. The allegation: satellites from the private US space company SpaceX were on a collision course with the manned Chinese space station. Despite being a private company, China is complaining about the US government.

In addition, the United Nations was turned on, said the spokesman for the state and party leadership Zhao Lijian: “Although the USA repeatedly calls for responsible behavior in space, the country is violating international obligations and has endangered the life and health of astronauts . A classic example of double standards. “

Experts point out that space is getting tighter. Time and again, space stations have to fly maneuvers to prevent collisions. Space junk also plays a major role in this. It was not until November that the International Space Station (ISS) with several astronauts on board had to avoid a piece of junk – once part of a Chinese weather satellite.

USA are keeping a low profile

China always uses space peacefully and adheres to international rules in space, according to Lijian. The US should do the same and take immediate action to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.

The US government only said about the latest allegations: The US called on all countries with space programs to act responsibly and to prevent astronauts from being endangered.

The Tiangong space station has been in space since April and should be fully functional in the course of the coming year. The People’s Republic is pursuing an ambitious space program. The country has already sent a rover to Mars and probes to the moon. China plans to take humans to Mars in around ten years.

Musk is insulted on the net

The company SpaceX of the US billionaire and Tesla founder Elon Musk operates around 1,700 satellites in space – as part of the so-called Starlink program. The private company has nothing to do with the US government, NASA or the US military. According to SpaceX, the aim of the Starlink program is to enable large parts of the world to access the Internet.

Due to the allegations that there were near collisions in space, Chinese Internet users abuse SpaceX boss and Tesla founder Elon Musk on online platforms. Some also call for people to stop buying Tesla brand electric cars.