Kathrine Frich
For years, the United States and China have followed separate paths in space.
Cooperation has been blocked by politics and mistrust.
Yet when safety in orbit is on the line, even old rivals may find reasons to communicate.
First contact in orbit
At the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney, Alvin Drew, NASA’s director of space sustainability, revealed that on November 2 Chinese space officials contacted NASA to coordinate an orbital maneuver.
The aim was to stop two satellites from colliding.
In the past, NASA alone issued such alerts, telling China to keep its satellite steady while the American team changed course.
This time, the Chinese Space Administration made the call.
They announced that they would move their craft and asked NASA to hold its position.
Shared responsibility
The event was described as a small but significant step.
Drew told the conference, “Either there will be cooperation in orbit, or there will be no orbit for anyone.”
His comment reflects growing concern over congestion in low Earth orbit.
In recent years, SpaceX has launched more than ten thousand Starlink satellites.
Thousands of Chinese craft are joining them under the Guowang and Thousand Sails programs.
As the sky becomes more crowded, coordination between countries is turning from diplomacy into necessity.
China’s new skills
The exchange also shows how far China has come in tracking space traffic.
The country has built systems that can detect close passes between satellites and act in time.
Just a few years ago, Beijing listed this as a top technological priority.
Chinese engineers are also studying how to clear debris from orbit.
That effort has become more urgent after a Tiangong Station return capsule from the Shenzhou-20 mission was struck by space junk.
The damage is still being studied, and a rescue flight may be needed to bring the astronauts home.
Sources: International Astronautical Congress, NASA, CNSA, ESA, Wirtualna Polska
This article is made and published by Kathrine Frich, who may have used AI in the preparation
