BEIJING (AP) \u2014 China is calling on the United States to protect a Chinese space station and its three-member crew after Beijing complained that satellites launched by Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX nearly struck the station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A foreign ministry spokesman accused Washington on Tuesday of ignoring its treaty obligations to protect the safety of the Tiangong station\u2019s three-member crew following the July 1 and Oct. 21 incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tiangong performed \u201cevasive maneuvers\u201d to \u201cprevent a potential collision\u201d with Starlink satellites launched by Space Exploration Technologies Corp., the government said in a Dec. 6 complaint to the U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United States should \u201ctake immediate measures to prevent such incidents from happening again,\u201d said the spokesman, Zhao Lijian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zhao accused Washington of failing to carry out its obligations to \u201cprotect the safety of astronauts\u201d under a 1967 treaty on the peaceful use of space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The American Embassy in Beijing didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Musk also is chairman of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, Inc. The company opened its first factory outside the United States in Shanghai in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tiangong, however, is a prestige project for the ruling Communist Party, making it unlikely Beijing would tolerate disruption even by a major foreign investor in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main module of the Tiangong was launched in April. Its first crew returned to Earth in September following a 90-day mission. The second crew of two men and one woman arrived on Oct. 16 for a six-month mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SpaceX plans to launch some 2,000 Starlink satellites as part of a global internet system to bring internet access to underserved areas. In its 34th and latest launch, SpaceX sent 52 satellites into orbit aboard a rocket Dec. 18.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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