Elon Musk and SpaceX Face Criticism From Weibo Users for the Near-Space Collisions

On 27th December, there was an internet outcry against Elon Musk and SpaceX from Chinese residents owing to space station near-collisions. Based on a message filed to the UN, certain SpaceX satellites came dangerously close to having a collision with China’s space station. The SpaceX near-collisions, as per the note, happened on 2 separate times in 2021. After China expressed dissatisfaction with having to push its space station to practice evasive steps to prevent accidents, residents began criticizing Musk and his aerospace firm SpaceX.

A subsidiary of SpaceX, Starlink Internet Services, deployed 2 satellites within the Starlink program, as per a notice provided by China to UNOOSA. During July 1st and October 21st, the initial and subsequent satellites will possess 2 near misses in Chinese space.

SpaceX was verbally abused by Weibo users, a microblogging network in China similar to Twitter. Starlink’s websites have been described as a stack of space garbage, whereas the satellites were given the description of being “American space warfare weapons” by one user.

SpaceX-Launched Satellites Were on the Verge of Colliding

China made a statement that China’s Tiangong Space Station has developed precautionary collision prevention management for security purposes in a report released on the UNOOSA’s website.

Approximately 30k satellites as well as other junks are presently circling the earth. As a result, experts have encouraged governments to distribute details for the purpose of lessening the chance of space collisions. Musk’s SpaceX has launched over 1,900 satellites for the Starlink mission on its own. Also, the aerospace industry intends to launch other satellites. According to a post made by Chen Haiyang, a Weibo user, Starlink’s hazards are progressively getting revealed, and the entire humanity would be held liable for their corporate operations.

NASA hastily canceled spacewalking this November owing to the problems presented by space junk. Elon Musk claimed that Starlink’s modified components of its trajectories in reaction to the firm’s decision to lessen the chances of any collision.

SpaceX’s Partnership With NASA 

During November, SpaceX and NASA collaborated on a mission to hit an asteroid. The cooperative enterprise completed a one-of-a-kind defense mission by launching a spacecraft to the asteroid. The project code-named DART intends to build a barrier on Earth. 

Despite the fact that there are countless numbers of asteroids orbiting the planet as well as the sun, the possibilities of them colliding with Earth remain remote. Thomas Zurbuchen earlier stated that this mission would help in increasing the defense of the Earth for the next century and maybe more than none of those asteroids would be posing a danger to Earth.

Despite the lack of danger, the initiative aims to make the earth more secure in the event of a renegade asteroid. NASA estimated that roughly ten months would go by before its 610 kg spacecraft approached the asteroids back then.  According to SpaceX director Julianna Scheiman, the joint partnership was the greatest project. She even thanked NASA for allowing SpaceX to participate in such a vital planetary defense mission.