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Elon Musk accused of “near misses” with China’s space station

China accused the United States of “serious threat“For the safety of his astronauts, after claiming that two satellites of billionaire Elon Musk came close to colliding with the Beijing space station.

The Chinese space station Tiangong should have carried out “preventive controls to avoid collisions” during the “close encounters”With the Starlink satellites of SpaceX in July and October, according to a document submitted by Beijing this month to the UN space agency.

On both occasions, the satellites entered orbits that forced space station operators to change course, the document noted.

California-based SpaceX did not immediately comment on this information.

Chinese social media users lashed out at Musk and his companies for the incidents, and a proposal to boycott them reached 87 million views Tuesday morning.

In China, electric cars Tesla that the American billionaire’s company manufactures are widely accepted.

How ironic that the Chinese buy Tesla (cars), putting up large sums of money so Musk can launch Starlink and then (almost) collide with China’s space station.”Commented one user.

Prepare to boycott TeslaSaid another, in a typical reply in China before foreign brands considered as contrary to the national interests of Beijing.

Some speculated that Washington would have imposed sanctions if the roles had been reversed.

According China, which avoided attacking Musk, The United States did not comply with its “international obligations” in the space.

This constitutes a serious threat to the life and safety of astronauts.“Chinese, a spokesman for Chinese diplomacy, Zhao Lijian, lashed out at the press.

In the document delivered to the UN, China indicated in reference to the October incident that “the maneuvering strategy was not known and the orbital errors are difficult to evaluate ”. Said he acted to “Guarantee the safety and lives of astronauts.”

Tiangong, which means “heavenly palace”Is the latest achievement in China’s effort to become a space power, after landing a robot on Mars and sending probes to the Moon.

The station’s central module entered orbit months ago and should be fully operational by 2022. Two crews of three astronauts each have succeeded on board since June.

Evasive maneuvers become more frequent as more objects saturate the near-Earth orbit and force trajectory adjustments to avoid accidents, said Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

We’ve really noticed an increase in the number of nearby passes since the Starlink started shipping“He commented, adding that a collision would” completely destroy “the space station and kill everyone on board.

Musk is admired in China But the reputation of Tesla, which sells tens of thousands of cars in the country each month, has faded after a series of accidents, scandals and concerns about data storage.

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