China slams US over space station near misses with Musk satellites

DW

Two “close encounters” between a Chinese space station and satellites operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX have sparked outrage against the US billionaire among Chinese web users.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the United States had ignored obligations under outer space treaties, putting astronauts at risk.

Chinese space station Tiangong had to maneuver to avoid colliding with a Starlink satellite — produced by a division of Elon Musk’s SpaceX — according to a note submitted by China to the United Nations space agency earlier this month.

The Chinese station was forced to move two times, once in July and another time in October.

The note said the incidents “constituted dangers to the life or health of astronauts aboard the China Space Station…