US general urges China to report space debris as G60 satellite network launches
On August 6, 18 satellites were delivered by a Long March 6A rocket, which took off from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in central China. But the upper stage of the launch vehicle broke apart soon after delivery.
According to media reports, US space-tracking firms estimated the event created over 700 fragments, making it one of the biggest rocket break-ups in history.
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At the panel hosted by the US Space Command at its Peterson Space Force Base on Wednesday, Whiting said the US had “made available the vast majority of the tracking data that we have” and provided notifications about space junk to Beijing.
Whiting added that in the past year, “we’ve seen a couple of times that they’ve given us a few notifications back”. He called this a “positive” move, but noted there were still occasions when the US was not informed.
On the subject of the Chinese rocket’s upper stage explosion, panel moderator Kevin Chilton, a senior fellow with the National Defence University, said the US “used to have that problem as well”, but it began venting fuel and gases from rocket stages before they entered orbit.
While the US was not certain whether China had been doing the same, Whiting said “we certainly don’t want to see that kind of debris going up there”.
The Long March 6A rocket, a two-stage medium launch vehicle powered by liquid-oxygen kerosene engines with four bundled solid-fuel boosters, has frequently been used to launch satellites.
But its history of leaving behind debris has drawn international attention, as space debris increases the risk of collisions and threatens space sustainability.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the two major debris incidents.
Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on August 14 that “China has taken necessary measures and is closely monitoring relevant orbit areas and conducting data analysis” after the first launch of the Qianfan Constellation.
“We’ve made it a rule to always take space debris mitigation measures after satellites and carrier rockets complete their missions, in order to help protect the environment of outer space and ensure the long-term sustainability of outer space activities.”
In response to the November 2022 incident, the ministry said it would “not affect the Chinese space station or the International Space Station”.