China reached out to NASA to avoid a potential satellite collision in 1st-of-its-kind space cooperation

An artist's concept depicting the near-Earth orbital debris field, based on real data from the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office.

China recently reached out to NASA over a maneuver to prevent a possible collision between satellites, a space sustainability official said, marking a first for space traffic management.

"For years, if we had a conjunction, we would send a note to the Chinese saying, 'We think we're going to run into you. You hold still, we'll maneuver around you,'" Alvin Drew, director for NASA Space Sustainability, said during a plenary session at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 2.