A quarrel has broken out over a parking spot in space.
China is accused of wedging a satellite between two neighbors in a position that threatens all three with interference and could disrupt the race for the vast Asian satellite TV market.It's believed to be the first incident of its kind, and raises a question that once belonged in the realm of science fiction: Is space running out of space?
China launched Apstar-1 on July 21 into geostationary orbit at 131 degrees east over the equator.
Just one degree away on either side of Apstar-1 are the U.S.-owned Rimsat-1, broadcasting TV to India, and the Japanese NTT-CS, carrying telephone traffic. One degree, say experts, is less than half the room a satellite needs to insulate itself from its neighbor.
Japanese officials have rushed to Beijing to protest. And Michael Sternberg, chief operating officer at Indiana-based Rimsat Ltd, has also been to the Chinese capital to seek a solution.
"Of course it's a problem," he said in a telephone interview. "One degree of spacing puts the satellites closer together and removes some of that natural insulation and can cause harmful interference."
Industry experts say China apparently sidestepped the complex process of coordinating the launch with neighboring satellite operators.