China and USA Lay Groundwork for LEO Traffic Control After Near Collision

[Buster's Uncle]

China and USA Lay Groundwork for LEO Traffic Control After Near Collision
Jon Martindale
Extreme Tech
Fri, October 3, 2025 at 7:00 AM EDT
2 min read



(Credit: Who_I_Am/Getty Images)


This week, the Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA) and NASA coordinated for the first time to avoid a collision in what could be the first steps toward building a space-based flight control system. As satellite megaconstellations crowd low Earth Orbit, this kind of collaboration will likely become increasingly necessary in the coming years.

Although various nations have maintained a presence in space for the better part of 70 years, communication between them hasn't always been the best. They certainly don't like to reveal the location or purpose of their space-bound assets to one another. But that may be starting to change.

This week, CSNA contacted NASA about a potential in-orbit collision between two satellites. The message read: "We would like to recommend you hold still and we'll do the maneuver," Alvin Drew, NASA's space sustainability director, said at a space sustainability panel on Thursday.

This was just an email—and a short one at that—but Drew highlighted just how important it was. It's the first time there's been this kind of direct line of communication between the two agencies, opening up potential for more public-verified communication between them in the future.

It's not necessarily the first time the Chinese have reached out, though.

"I know for a fact that OneWeb has been contacted by a Chinese constellation to talk about where they're going," said Darren McKnight, senior technical fellow for LeoLabs. "SpaceX also has been contacted by a Chinese constellation."

The fact that this has happened multiple times recently means that some policy in the Chinese space administration is approving these communications. It suggests a desire for greater collaboration, or at least a need for it.

The need for secrecy and the requirement that no funding pass between them limit communication between space agencies. NASA is reportedly working on breaking down some of these barriers, though, which could open up the door for more cooperation in the future—perhaps even a shared policy on how to manage the increasingly busy parts of near-Earth space.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/china-usa-lay-groundwork-leo-110000367.html