[Sound of Science and Technology] Space touches porcelain, it’s hard to stop China from moving forward

　　Recently, the two incidents of the US Starlink satellite "touching porcelain" in the Chinese space station were exposed, causing heated discussions.

While condemning the U.S. space hegemony, people are also worried about whether China's space industry will be blocked.

In this regard, the author believes that the space "impact of porcelain" incident cannot stop China from making progress in the peaceful use of space.

　　First of all, this dangerous behavior is a threat to the space exploration of all mankind and is opposed by the global aerospace community.

　　The Starlink satellites launched by the US Space Exploration Technology Corporation (SpaceX) have approached the Chinese Space Station twice in 2021, posing a threat to the lives and health of the astronauts onboard the Chinese Space Station.

For safety reasons, the Chinese space station complex implemented "emergency collision avoidance" on the US Starlink satellites twice on July 1, 2021 and October 21, 2021.

　　Starlink satellites threaten more than just the security of the Chinese space station.

The US Starlink project plans to launch 42,000 satellites to form a super giant constellation, and nearly 2,000 satellites have been launched so far.

The plan destroyed the beautiful starry sky and optical observations, interfered with the research of radio astronomy, and savagely occupied precious low-Earth orbit resources. It has been controversial in recent years, and experts in the astronomy and aerospace industry of various countries have criticized it.

British researchers also found that since the first launch of the Starlink satellite in May 2019, spacecraft approach events have more than doubled, and at least half of the spacecraft approach events are related to Starlink satellites.

　　Moral support from many, scant support.

The United States ignores international treaty obligations on outer space and uses dangerous means to "stake the race" in space, which is equivalent to driving drunk and retrograde on a highway. It threatens public safety and arouses public outrage.

　　After destroying the space security environment, the United States cannot be left alone.

American scientist Donald K. Kessler once proposed the "Kessler phenomenon" in 1978.

The theory assumes that when objects in low-Earth orbit reach a certain density, the debris generated after these objects collide can cause more new impacts, forming a cascade effect, and the low-Earth orbit will be covered by dangerous space junk.

Due to the loss of a safe orbit, it will be impossible to conduct space exploration and use artificial satellites for hundreds of years.

　　Second, China has been studying the peaceful and safe use of space technology and is a responsible space power.

　　Putting a large number of low-cost satellites into low-Earth orbit to "occupy pits" like Starlink is not a terrible technology.

China has rapid rocket launch technology and one-shot multiple-star technology. It is not difficult to "occupy the hole".

The constellation system planned by China is similar to the broadband services that Starlink can provide, but it follows a small quantity and high-quality boutique route, which reflects China's sense of responsibility to reduce the production of space junk.

　　The orbital height of the Chinese space station is about 400 kilometers, and the normal operating height of the US Starlink satellite is more than 500 kilometers. There is no overlap between the two.

The safety of the Chinese space station is threatened because the relevant Starlink satellites have reduced their orbits under abnormal conditions.

The operating speed of the space station is close to 8 kilometers per second. At such a fast speed, the space station will be destroyed if it collides with an object with a diameter of more than 10 cm.

The Chinese space station has a flexible body and avoided space collision twice, reflecting China's superb space perception and obstacle avoidance capabilities.

　　The low-cost and high-efficiency cleaning of space junk is a technical challenge facing mankind, and China is also conducting related research.

On October 24, 2021, three days after the second "emergency collision avoidance" of the Chinese Space Station, we successfully launched the Shijian 21 satellite, which is mainly used for space debris mitigation technology test verification.

　　The construction of the space station is an important milestone in China's aerospace industry.

Facing the future, China will definitely make more pioneering contributions to the peaceful use of space by mankind, and will never stop its progress because of the "impact of porcelain" in space.

(Source of She Huimin: Economic Daily)