China has reached out to NASA to perform a maneuver to avoid a potential satellite collision. This is the first time that China and NASA have reached out in the field of space traffic management, Space reports.
Previously, in the event of a risk of collision between spacecraft, it was the United States that notified the Chinese side of the potential danger, noting that the American satellites would change their trajectory, while China did not need to take any action. Now, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) has for the first time independently alerted NASA to a close encounter between the two countries’ satellites and said it would take a maneuver to avoid a collision.
The CNSA initiative comes amid a surge in the number of satellites in orbit, both from the United States — notably SpaceX’s Starlink constellation — and from China, which is developing the Guowang and Thousand Sails systems. This trend is increasing the need for coordination between satellite operators to minimize the risk of collisions and prevent new pieces of space debris from appearing.
The move also reflects China’s growing awareness of the situation in orbit, with the country already having the technological capabilities to detect close encounters and coordinate with other operators. In addition, China recently announced the development of technologies aimed at cleaning up space debris in the near-Earth space.
At the same time, contacts between CNSA and NASA remain limited due to the so-called Wolf Amendment, passed in 2011, which prohibits most forms of bilateral cooperation between the United States and China in the field of space exploration.
