Nasa and SpaceX have reached an agreement saying they will avoid accidents together.
The agreement covers “alliance avoidance and elimination of crash crashes … as well as division-related missions,” according to a Nasa press release, due to SpaceX’s high number of Starlink satellites which is now in orbit.
“The association relies on location-based capabilities for global communications, navigation, weather forecasting and much more,” said Nasa Administrator Steve Jurczyk.
“With commercial companies launching more and more satellites, it is vital that we increase communications, exchange data, and establish best practice to ensure that we all maintain a safe place environment. ”
SpaceX is expected to continue launching satellites to become a consulate of up to 40,000, but competitors and astronauts have been pushing back on security and scientific concerns.
Nasa says Starlink spacecraft are equipped with GPS navigation to estimate orbital parameters, an ion movement system, and autonomous motion capabilities that should help them detect potential events.
SpaceX has said its satellites will move automatically or manually to avoid Nasa missions, with both organizations coordinating operations.
In October, a catastrophic crash was largely averted as part of a Chinese rocket that was thrown away and a decommissioned Soviet satellite almost missed each other with a 10 percent probability of crash.
The results of such a collision could create a layer of debris around the Earth that would make stellar travel impossible, but there is a lack of action to clean up the discarded material.