NASA Warns SpaceX Plan for 30,000 Satellites Could Put Space Station at Risk - Reports

© AFP 2023 / AFP PHOTO / NASA/ROSCOSMOSThis file NASA handout photo obtained November 4, 2018 shows the International Space Station photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking.
This file NASA handout photo obtained November 4, 2018 shows the International Space Station photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 10.02.2022
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) -NASA has warned that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s plan to put 30,000 small satellites in orbit to create a new global communications network could create dangerous risks for the International Space Station (ISS), Bloomberg reported.
If implemented, Musk's plan could also interfere with programs to monitor space for the threat of potentially catastrophic asteroid strikes on Earth, NASA said in comments officially filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to the report on Wednesday.
On January 15, Musk announced that SpaceX had already activated 1,469 mini-satellites in its Starling program and said 272 of them were already being directed into operational orbits, the report said.
In 2021, two SpaceX satellites almost collided with China’s space station and in one of the incidents, a Starlink satellite came within 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) of it, the report also said.
The Chinese government complained about the SpaceX project in a December 6 memorandum filed with a UN committee that oversees space programs, the report added.
The plan is to reach the goal of launching 30,000 mini-satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) by 2028, according to the report.
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