Recently, we reported about the dissatisfaction of some Chinese internet users over Elon Musk’s other company called Starlink due to a near-miss collision with the Chinese space station.
Recently, a spokesperson representing the foreign ministry in China has accused Washington of ignoring its treaty obligations to protect the safety of the Tiangong station’s three-member crew after the July 1st and Oct. 21st incidents.
What has prompted the call out is due to “evasive maneuvers” performed by the Tiangong space station as it was on a collision course with Starlink satellites launched by Space Exploration Technologies Corp., said the Chinese government in a complaint sent to a UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
The United States should “take immediate measures to prevent such incidents from happening again,” said the spokesman, Zhao Lijian.
- Advertisement -
He further accused the US government of failing to carry out its obligations which are to protect the safety of astronauts under the 1967 treaty on the peaceful use of space.
The American Embassy in Beijing didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Despite Elon Musk now being a big rival to other Chinese EV manufacturers thanks to the launching of a Tesla Giga factory in Shanghai, he is still getting criticized.
The Tiangong is said to be a prestigious project for the Communist Party of China or CCP and the government will probably not tolerate disruption even from a major foreign investor like Tesla.
The main part of the space station was launched back in April and its first crew returned to Earth back in September after a 90-day mission.
Then there was another second crewed mission consisting of two men and one woman on Oct. 16th for a six-month period.
On the other hand, is SpaceX’s satellite company called Starlink which hopes to bring faster internet to rural areas across the globe.
The company plans to launch some 2,000 satellites into low Earth’s orbit in order to bring better internet to underserved areas.
In its 34th and latest launch, SpaceX sent 52 satellites into orbit aboard a rocket on Dec. 18.
