Beijing's representative at a UN Security Council informal meeting initiated by Russia highlighted safety and security risks from SpaceX's Starlink satellites, citing near-misses with the Chinese space station and their use by criminals and terrorists.
At an informal United Nations Security Council meeting initiated by Russia on Monday, Beijing's representative cited several incidents, including near collisions between Starlink satellites and the Chinese space station in 2021, and a satellite that disintegrated in December.
The comments came shortly after a senior Starlink executive reported a near miss between one of the company's satellites and a newly launched Chinese satellite, accusing the Chinese side of failing to coordinate with other satellites.
“In recent years, humanity has made new progress in the exploration and use of outer space,” the representative said, according to a statement from Beijing’s UN mission that did not name the diplomat.
“At the same time, it must also be noted that, with the rapid expansion of commercial space activities, the unchecked proliferation of commercial satellite constellations by a certain country, in the absence of effective regulation, has given rise to pronounced safety and security challenges.”
Keywords in the statement include the Outer Space Treaty, Elon Musk, Chinese space station, Qianfan broadband network, Russia, Chinese astronauts, Guowang network, Starlink, SpaceX, and United Nations Security Council. The event underscores growing concerns over unregulated commercial satellite growth and its implications for global space safety.