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.
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.