SpaceX Starlink satellite photobombs orbital view of secret Chinese air base (photo)

One of SpaceX's broadband-beaming Starlink satellites has been captured overflying a top-secret airbase in China that was photographed by a private American Earth-observation satellite.

The unexpected satellite alignment above the Dingxin Airbase in the Gobi Desert of western China took place on Aug. 21 and created a range of unusual effects in the high-resolution image.

The visible-light photo, taken by one of Maxar Technologies' WorldView Legion satellites orbiting at an altitude of 312 miles (518 kilometers), shows what appears to be a fleet of fighter jets resting on the ramp adjacent to the runway surrounded by brown, arid soil. In the upper-left corner of the image, a ghostly oblong shadow appears in the picture with a silver-colored middle section and two darker-colored arms stretching to the sides.

The photobomber is a satellite — specifically, one of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites, which Maxar identified as spacecraft number 33828. The mirror effect comes from a trio of rainbow-colored reflections of the satellite, which enliven the drab desert surface below.

Susanne Hake, Maxar's general manager for U.S. government, who posted the image on LinkedIn, described the colorful reflections as a "pan-sharpening spectral artifact," caused by the extremely high speeds — around 5 miles (8 kilometers) per second — at which the two satellites passed each other.

"Essentially, our imaging system was merging high-resolution black & white data with color data while the Starlink zipped past at orbital velocity," Hake wrote in the post. "Physics turned a technical imaging challenge into accidental art."

Hake added that, although the orbital encounter underscores how crowded near-Earth space has become, the incident was more of a spectacular rarity than a concern for safety or image quality.

"Capturing another satellite like this in an Earth-observation image is extremely rare," Hake told Space.com in an email. "In this case, a Starlink satellite happened to pass through our field of view at just the right moment while our sensors were mid-collection — an extraordinary alignment, given the vastness of space and the fact that we were traveling at an astonishing relative velocity of about 1,400 meters per second."

The Starlink megaconstellation operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX has come under criticism from astronomers because the sunlight reflected by the low-Earth-orbit fleet leaves streaks in telescope images. The problem is especially felt by large-scale surveys such as the recently opened Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile, which capture vast swaths of the sky in every sweep and therefore catch many satellites in each photo.

Currently comprising more than 8,300 active satellites, the Starlink constellation also disturbs radio telescope observations. When the spacecraft fly over radio-quiet antenna arrays, tuned to listen for the quietest radio waves coming from distant galaxies, the noise from the satellites' internal electronics obscures some of the precious observation frequencies even when Earth-facing internet beams are switched off.

The growing number of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) also worries space sustainability experts, who warn about the increasing risk of orbital collisions. Although Starlink encounters are currently no bother to Earth-observation satellite operators such as Maxar, Hake stressed that the continued growth in LEO satellite numbers may become a challenge in the future.

"The 'crowded' space domain isn't just about collision avoidance anymore — it's about understanding how these overlapping capabilities create both opportunities and complexities for mission planning," she wrote in the LinkedIn post. "That's why integrated space domain awareness isn't just nice-to-have anymore — it's foundational to mission success."

The Dingxin Airbase, which provided a backdrop for the orbital encounter, is one of the most secretive military locations in China, known for conducting complex fighter jet drills and bomber exercises, and supporting development of new military drones.