‘Musk’ tensions between China and the US: China takes action for Elon Musk
China took action for Elon Musk. He complained to the UN on the grounds that Musk’s space transportation company and the USA were turning space into garbage. Another tension has opened between China and the United States.
The Beijing administration complained to the United Nations (UN) about the Starlink satellites of SpaceX, the space transportation company owned by Elon Musk, and asked the United States to be reminded that it must comply with the Outer Space Agreement. China, in its complaint, stated, “Musk’s satellites were prevented from hitting our space station twice with special security measures. Washington should take action.”
“STATES HAVE RESPONSIBILITY”
The complaint was made after SpaceX’s satellites were prevented from crashing into China’s space station twice in the past year. In a letter to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space, the Beijing administration stated that the space station had to take special security measures to prevent collision on July 1 and October 21, and urged the United States to take responsibility for its citizen, Elon Musk.
In the letter, the UN Secretary General was asked to fulfill the obligations of all countries that are party to the Outer Space Treaty, which forms the basis of international space law. The letter noted that all states bear international responsibility for the national activities of both their governments and non-governmental actors in space.
“ALL HUMANITY WILL PAY THE PRICE”
After the news was heard, reactions to Elon Musk rained on China’s Twitter Weibo. One user described Starlink satellites as ‘space junk’, while another made a comparison of ‘American space war weapons’. Another user said, “Starlink’s risks are revealed over time. All humanity will pay a price because of their activities.”
As the number of satellites orbiting the Earth approaches 30,000, scientists are asking governments to share more information to avoid catastrophic collisions. SpaceX has launched about 1900 satellites for the Starlink network.
