China Says U.S. Ignored Complaints After Space Station Near Misses In Orbit

A diplomatic back and forth about safety in outer space continued this week, when China said the U.S. ignored emails after its crewed space station nearly collided with two SpaceX satellites last year.

China's complaints had flown largely below the radar; it didn't air any grievances in public until after it had filed a December 3 note verbale with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, in which Beijing said its space station had to perform evasive maneuvers on July 1 and October 21 to avoid Starlink satellites and ensure the safety of its astronauts.

A day after Newsweek reported China's semi-formal notification to UN General-Secretary António Guterres, a State Department spokesperson said the U.S. Space Force "did not estimate a significant probability of collision" between the space station and any Starlink spacecraft—or it would've sent a "close approach notification" to a Chinese point of contact.

In a January 28 note verbale of its own, Washington told the UN the same. "Because the activities did not meet the threshold of established emergency collision criteria, emergency notifications were not warranted in either case," it read. The U.S. said it was "unaware of any contact or attempted contact" with relevant American authorities or the operators of the Starlink satellites prior to Beijing's note to the UN.

On Thursday, China's Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. of shirking its responsibilities in space.

"China was fulfilling the international obligation stipulated by Article 5 of the Outer Space Treaty by informing the UN of the dangerous approach by the Starlink satellite to the Chinese space station that threatened in-orbit Chinese astronauts," said ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian. He said the satellites were moving "with unspecified maneuvering strategies and intentions while in-orbit Chinese astronauts were facing real and urgent safety threats."

"After the incidents, China's competent authorities tried multiple times to reach the U.S. via email but received no reply. Now the U.S. attempts to use a so-called 'threshold of emergency collision criteria' to shift responsibility and divert attention," Zhao said. "This is not the responsible attitude of a space power, not to mention the fact it has no right to unilaterally establish a 'threshold of emergency collision criteria.'"

If Beijing has its way, there could soon be a U.S.-China "hotline" in space. Zhao said China "stands ready to establish a long-term communication mechanism" in order to protect its astronauts. "We hope the U.S. will take concrete measures to prevent such incidents from happening again."

The content of China's emails and the U.S. government authority it was trying to contact were not disclosed. China's Foreign Ministry and embassy in Washington didn't respond to requests for clarification before publication. Newsweek also contacted the Department of State for comment.

In its note verbale, the U.S. said it had provided spaceflight safety information to China since November 2014, "including emergency notifications of high-risk collision hazards between crewed and robotic Chinese spacecraft and other space objects."

"The United States believes that detailed consultations on measures to reduce the risk of collision between United States space objects and the human spaceflight activities of other nations should be conducted directly, through bilateral channels, to facilitate efficient and timely sharing of information and coordination of potentially urgent responses," it said.