Overview
- Starlink executive Michael Nicolls said a newly launched satellite came within about 200 meters of STARLINK-6079 at roughly 560 kilometers altitude with no prior coordination.
- CAS Space denied responsibility, stated required launch procedures were followed, and said the encounter occurred nearly 48 hours after payload separation, adding it is in contact with SpaceX.
- The specific spacecraft involved from the recent Kinetica-1 mission has not been publicly identified, leaving independent confirmation of the close approach unresolved.
- The December 9 Kinetica-1 launch from Jiuquan placed multiple satellites into low Earth orbit, including payloads for China, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Nepal.
- The incident highlights growing congestion and renewed calls from agencies such as the European Space Agency for stronger space-traffic management and debris mitigation, with Starlink’s automated avoidance reliant on shared positional data.