The US government and enterprises should abide by the outer space treaty

Original title: the US government and enterprises should abide by the outer space treaty
Xinhua News Agency reporter Luo Guofang
According to a document recently released on the official website of the United Nations Committee on the peaceful uses of outer space, the permanent mission of China to the United Nations (Vienna) submitted a note verbale to the Secretary General of the United Nations in early December 2021, saying that the "star chain" satellite launched by American space Exploration Technology Corporation approached the Chinese space station twice in 2021, It poses a danger to the life and health of the astronauts carried on the Chinese space station. For safety reasons, the space station assembly has implemented two emergency collision avoidance against relevant U.S. satellites.
This incident once again aroused public concern about the impact of "star chain" satellites on space security.
The "star chain" project plans to launch 12000 low altitude orbit satellites into space from 2019 to 2024, build a network and provide Internet services. So far, more than 1700 satellites have been successfully launched, accounting for more than one third of all satellites in orbit.
Such a large number of "star chain" satellites occupy low altitude orbit, and the risk of "collision" with other spacecraft can not be ignored. The "star chain" satellite is not the first time that it is dangerously close to other spacecraft. In 2019, in order to test the "technology of automatic satellite off orbit", the space exploration technology company lowered the "xinglian-44" satellite to an altitude of 320 km, which nearly collided with the "Fengshen" meteorological satellite of the European Space Agency. ESA had to urgently adjust the "Fengshen" orbit to avoid it.
NASA is well aware of the threat posed by the "star chain". In March 2021, NASA and space exploration technologies signed a joint space flight safety agreement. The two sides agreed that the space exploration technology company should operate the "star chain" satellite close to the international space station or NASA spacecraft to implement maneuver avoidance, while the other party does not need to maneuver.
However, NASA did not mention the responsibilities and obligations of the "star chain" satellite when approaching the spacecraft of other countries in the agreement, and the space exploration technology company did not publish the necessary information or communicate with the space agencies of other countries. ESA communicated with space exploration technology company about the collision risk of Fengshen satellite, but did not get a response.
one should not impose on others what he himself does not desire. On the premise of knowing the risk of on orbit collision and the importance of relevant information, with sufficient "experience and lessons learned", NASA and "star chain" satellites still approached the Chinese space station assembly twice without notice. In this way, it is "impressive" to "improve the global understanding of space activities".
With the increase of human space exploration and space utilization activities, there are more and more spacecraft in space. The spacecraft of all countries should maintain an appropriate safe distance and maintain close communication and coordination, which is an international obligation that all countries should fulfill. Especially for manned spacecraft, the life safety of astronauts should be put in the first place.
The United Nations outer space treaty, which is currently recognized as the cornerstone of international law in the field of outer space, stipulates that astronauts are envoys sent by all mankind to outer space. All countries should respect and protect the safety of astronauts and notify the Secretary General of the United Nations or other States parties of phenomena found in outer space that pose a danger to the lives or health of astronauts.
As a state party to the outer space treaty, the US government should be held responsible for the actions of space exploration technology companies and should not shirk them under the pretext of "corporate behavior". The outer space treaty stipulates that "each State Party shall bear international responsibility for its activities (whether government departments or non-governmental organizations) in outer space (including the moon and other celestial bodies)." As an enterprise engaged in space activities, space exploration technology companies should also respect the outer space treaty, publish the orbit information and orbit change scheme of "star chain" satellites to all parties that may encounter collision risks, and coordinate how to avoid them.
In the event that the "star chain" satellite approached the Chinese space station dangerously, the US government agencies and enterprises did not fulfill their due responsibilities, ignoring international treaty obligations and the life safety of astronauts. The United States should respect the outer space order based on international law, take immediate measures to prevent such incidents from happening again, take a responsible attitude to protect the lives of astronauts in orbit and maintain the safe and stable operation of space facilities.
The peaceful development and utilization of space resources is the consensus of the international community. Jointly maintaining space order is in the interests of space development of all mankind. In the future, more countries and enterprises will send spacecraft into space. On space orbit, all parties should abide by the "traffic rules" and not "rampage".