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How China’s aerospace vision differs from Elon Musk’s SpaceX
Friday’s retrieval of a rocket booster made China the second nation to master the precision recovery of an orbital-class rocket component
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Frank Chenin Shanghai
China’s controlled seaborne recovery of a rocket booster using a net-capture vessel last week proved the viability and virtues of its state-led aerospace efforts, experts said, contrasting it with the market-focused approach adopted by America’s SpaceX.
They also said Beijing was convinced that keeping the state, rather than a private company, at the helm of its space programme was a more secure, resilient and deliverable way to win a space race that had more than commercial interests at stake in the eyes of policymakers.
Friday’s recovery of a reusable Long March-10B rocket booster in the South China Sea turned a new page in the tech and space rivalry between China and the United States.
The retrieval made China the second nation to have mastered the precision recovery of an orbital-class rocket component, analysts said.
“A more confident Beijing is looking at the American model, represented by SpaceX’s dominance, with caution,” said Lung Siu Fung, director of research at the equity division of CCB International Securities, the Hong Kong-based investment banking and brokerage arm of China Construction Bank.
“China’s space sector is, in a nutshell, a national team. Unlike the US, China’s vibrant commercial space companies are playing a supplementary role.”
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