China Space Administration recently did something unprecedented: it took the initiative to contact NASA and asked the other party not to move and let China adjust the satellite orbit to avoid collisions. This is the first real space cooperation between China and the United States.
Data show that there are more than 8,000 active satellites in orbit, the light has tripled in the last five years, and there are more than 440,000 traceable space debris, and millions of dangerous debris over 1 cm.
These things are flying at a speed of 7.9 kilometers per second, and even a small piece of it crashing into a satellite could be devastating, let alone a manned space station.
The cause of this U.S.-China coordination is essentially the inevitable result of space “traffic congestion.”It should be noted that the Chinese space station has been forced twice to the U.S. “star chain” satellite emergency escape: July 2021, the “star chain”-1095 satellite suddenly dropped from 555 km orbit to 382 km, forcing the space station to turn overnight.
In October of that year, the "Starlink"-2305 satellite wandered in orbit again, and its maneuvering strategy was completely opaque. China had to avoid it urgently again. At that time, there were still astronauts living in the space station.
The feeling of passive avoidance is not pleasant, just like driving on the highway, and the car in the next lane suddenly changes lanes, so you can only slam the steering wheel to avoid danger.
And this time China actively contacted the United States and coordinated, which is equivalent to the two countries finally sat into the same "space traffic scheduling room."Arvin Drew, director of space sustainable development, said that although it was only a short email, but established a channel for direct communication.
This is simple to say, but not easy to do-you must know that in the past, the United States was restricted by the Wolf Amendment, and the exchange of aerospace information with China had to bypass the State Council. When the news reached the place, the risk of collision might have passed. Now you can skip these cumbersome processes and talk directly, and you can grab a valuable hedging window in time alone.
This collaboration debunked the myth that "space competition can only be opposite". As SpaceX's Starlink has deployed more than 5,000 satellites, and various satellite constellations of Amazon and China are also accelerating, the "parking spaces" in low-Earth orbit have long been insufficient.
The European Space Agency has previously calculated that each satellite collision will not only destroy hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, but also create thousands of new debris, forming a vicious cycle. Under such circumstances, it is simply impossible to engage in "separate affairs".
In fact, from a technical point of view, this time the Chinese side actively undertakes the adjustment of the orbit, also reflects the hard strength. spacecraft is not randomly displaced, we must first accurately track the target through the global monitoring system, then use the computer to calculate the optimal solution, and finally rely on the advancement of the system with the least fuel to complete the operation, and test the performance of the ground control and spacecraft.
The rapid coordination between China and the United States also shows that both sides know that space security has never been a unilateral matter-no matter how strong one side's technology is, it cannot prevent the risk brought by the other side's "out of control" satellites.
Of course, this is just the beginning. At present, the orbital parameter formats and time standards of various countries are not unified, the international space traffic control system has not yet been established, and the old "Outer Space Treaty" cannot control the current commercial aerospace boom. But just as ground transportation goes from jaywalking to traffic lights, space also needs such "traffic rules."
This "handshake" between China and the United States may be the first step in establishing rules. After all, in space, the common territory of mankind, cooperation is the only "safe waterway."
Data show that there are more than 8,000 active satellites in orbit, the light has tripled in the last five years, and there are more than 440,000 traceable space debris, and millions of dangerous debris over 1 cm.
These things are flying at a speed of 7.9 kilometers per second, and even a small piece of it crashing into a satellite could be devastating, let alone a manned space station.
The cause of this U.S.-China coordination is essentially the inevitable result of space “traffic congestion.”It should be noted that the Chinese space station has been forced twice to the U.S. “star chain” satellite emergency escape: July 2021, the “star chain”-1095 satellite suddenly dropped from 555 km orbit to 382 km, forcing the space station to turn overnight.
In October of that year, the "Starlink"-2305 satellite wandered in orbit again, and its maneuvering strategy was completely opaque. China had to avoid it urgently again. At that time, there were still astronauts living in the space station.
The feeling of passive avoidance is not pleasant, just like driving on the highway, and the car in the next lane suddenly changes lanes, so you can only slam the steering wheel to avoid danger.
And this time China actively contacted the United States and coordinated, which is equivalent to the two countries finally sat into the same "space traffic scheduling room."Arvin Drew, director of space sustainable development, said that although it was only a short email, but established a channel for direct communication.
This is simple to say, but not easy to do-you must know that in the past, the United States was restricted by the Wolf Amendment, and the exchange of aerospace information with China had to bypass the State Council. When the news reached the place, the risk of collision might have passed. Now you can skip these cumbersome processes and talk directly, and you can grab a valuable hedging window in time alone.
This collaboration debunked the myth that "space competition can only be opposite". As SpaceX's Starlink has deployed more than 5,000 satellites, and various satellite constellations of Amazon and China are also accelerating, the "parking spaces" in low-Earth orbit have long been insufficient.
The European Space Agency has previously calculated that each satellite collision will not only destroy hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, but also create thousands of new debris, forming a vicious cycle. Under such circumstances, it is simply impossible to engage in "separate affairs".
In fact, from a technical point of view, this time the Chinese side actively undertakes the adjustment of the orbit, also reflects the hard strength. spacecraft is not randomly displaced, we must first accurately track the target through the global monitoring system, then use the computer to calculate the optimal solution, and finally rely on the advancement of the system with the least fuel to complete the operation, and test the performance of the ground control and spacecraft.
The rapid coordination between China and the United States also shows that both sides know that space security has never been a unilateral matter-no matter how strong one side's technology is, it cannot prevent the risk brought by the other side's "out of control" satellites.
Of course, this is just the beginning. At present, the orbital parameter formats and time standards of various countries are not unified, the international space traffic control system has not yet been established, and the old "Outer Space Treaty" cannot control the current commercial aerospace boom. But just as ground transportation goes from jaywalking to traffic lights, space also needs such "traffic rules."
This "handshake" between China and the United States may be the first step in establishing rules. After all, in space, the common territory of mankind, cooperation is the only "safe waterway."