China resents Elon Musk. In early December, Beijing complained to the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs in Vienna, accusing SpaceX satellites of having twice nearly collided with China’s Tiangong space station.
These accusations were finally made public on Tuesday, December 28, Beijing accusing the United States of “failing in their international obligations”.
According to Chinese authorities, Tiangong was forced to carry out avoidance maneuvers in July and October, so as not to collide with machines sent into space by the company of the multi-billionaire. A necessary reaction to “ensure the safety and survival of astronauts in orbit,” said the Chinese space agency.
Elon Musk is not mentioned by name in the document submitted to the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, but his company, SpaceX, is known to have launched Starlink, a constellation of more than 1,500 satellites, supposed to bring internet connection everywhere in the world. world. A project which has therefore significantly increased the circulation of objects in space.
On social networks, some Chinese Internet users directly criticize the one who has just been elected personality of the year by Time. “Prepare to boycott Tesla,” one wrote on Weibo. “There’s no shortage of irony: the Chinese are buying Tesla, giving Musk money to launch (satellites) and throw them at the Chinese space station,” said another.
The SpaceX executive is indeed rather popular in China, where his Tesla electric cars are selling well. The company has a factory in Shanghai and sells around a quarter of its production in the country. A crucial market, however, scratched in recent months by several accidents and concerns about data protection.
