Elon Musk satellites force China's space station to change course

Beijing says it complained to the United Nations about near misses its space station allegedly had with SpaceX satellites, a sign that tensions are rising in the space race between China and the US.

Two satellites from the US company founded by Elon Musk came close to the station in July and October, forcing astronauts on board to take evasive action, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

The Chinese government told UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres about the incident on December 3, Zhao said, adding the US wasn’t meeting its obligations under the Outer Space Treaty.

“The US, while talking about the concept of responsible outer space behavior, is in practice ignoring its obligations under the treaty,” Zhao said, remarking that the incidents endangered the station’s astronauts. 

The space rivalry between the US and China has been heating up in recent years. Earlier this month a top Chinese scientist said his nation may be able to send astronauts to the moon for the first time by 2030. Those comments came just weeks after President Joe Biden’s top space official set out a similar timetable for new American lunar exploration, setting up the possibility of dueling missions between two of the world’s best-financed space powers.