"When satellite operators do not share ephemeris for their satellites, dangerously close approaches can occur in space,"
"A few days ago, 9 satellites were deployed from a launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwestern China. As far as we know, no coordination or deconfliction with existing satellites operating in space was performed, resulting in a 200 meter close approach between one of the deployed satellites and STARLINK-6079 (56120) at 560 km altitude."
"Our team is currently in contact for more details. All CAS Space launches select their launch windows using the ground-based space awareness system to avoid collisions with known satellites/debris. This is a mandatory procedure."
A newly launched cluster of nine satellites from Jiuquan came within roughly 200 meters of STARLINK-6079 at 560 km altitude after ephemeris were not shared. Starlink emphasizes the need for operators to provide location data so automatic avoidance systems can function; Starlink spacecraft executed over 144,000 avoidance maneuvers in the first half of 2025. CAS Space says its launches use ground-based space awareness to avoid known objects and notes the close approach occurred nearly 48 hours after payload separation. Over 24,000 objects are tracked in low Earth orbit, and projections foresee up to 70,000 satellites by decade’s end.
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