The ministry said that Washington missile launches pose a threat to the lives of Chinese astronauts
BEIJING, December 28. /tass/. China expresses dissatisfaction with the actions of the United States in near-Earth space and demands that the United States be held responsible for the activities of American companies that threaten the lives of Chinese astronauts with their rocket launches. This was stated on Tuesday by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.
"The United States only verbally takes a responsible position in space, as they claim," the Chinese diplomat stressed at a briefing. "However, they do not comply with international agreements, creating a danger to the lives of astronauts."
As the official representative clarified, Washington is thereby "demonstrating its double standards to the world." According to Zhao Lijian, the American company SpaceX launched Starlink microsatellites in July and October, which led to a dangerous situation.
"They twice approached the Chinese space station, where Chinese cosmonauts were working at that time," he added. Zhao Lijian also said that due to the threat, the Taikonauts were forced to "take emergency measures to avoid a collision."
"It is necessary that each country bears responsibility for the actions of its private companies in space," he concluded.
The Chinese station is located at an altitude of about 400 km and will serve for more than 10 years. It is designed for three people (up to six for a short time when the crew changes). The mass of the T-shaped complex, which has three docking nodes and a gateway for entering space, is 66 tons, the volume of compartments reaches 110 cubic meters. It is expected that the orbital object will work in 2022 and, as promised by the Chinese authorities, will be available for international projects.
