BEIJING, December 29. /TASS/. While launching the Starlink micro-satellites, SpaceX changed their orbit arbitrarily without notifying other countries, which should be considered a display of extreme irresponsibility, says International Astronautical Federation Space Transportation Committee Vice-chair Yang Yuguang.

"We cannot guess whether the Starlink satellite orbit descent was a system malfunction or an intentional action, but it is very irresponsible to change the orbit and not notify other sides on time," he said, according to People’s Daily.

The expert confirmed that such launches can threaten the life of the astronauts in the orbit. He noted that Starlink’s normal altitude was about 500 km and does not coincide with the Chinese space station position.

On Tuesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed its displeasure over the US’ actions in space and demanded that Washington took responsibility for the actions of American companies that threaten the lives of Chinese cosmonauts with their launches. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Washington "displays its double standards to the world with its actions".