The Chinese satellites SpaceX says were on collision course with Starlink

A small number of Chinese satellites and space debris forced SpaceX’s Starlink fleet to execute a large number of collision avoidance manoeuvres last year, as both sides complained of safety challenges from rival internet megaconstellations.The largest culprit was Hongqing Technology’s Honghu-2 satellite, which accounted for 1,143 such manoeuvres. The experimental satellite was launched aboard LandSpace’s Zhuque 2 Y-3 rocket in December 2023.Such manoeuvres consume fuel and shorten a satellite’s lifespan.According to a report filed by SpaceX with the US Federal Communications Commission on December 31, Starlink satellites performed 148,696 collision avoidance manoeuvres between June 1 and November 30 last year.Among the top 20 individual space objects that Starlink satellites had to adjust for, seven from China accounted for 3,732 manoeuvres, according to the report.