SpaceX
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SpaceX

SpaceX
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) designs, manufactures and launches the world's most advanced rockets and spacecraft. Based in California, it was founded in 2002 by former PayPal entrepreneur Elon Musk with the aim of revolutionising space transportation.
Chairman / President
Elon Musk
CEO / Managing Director
Elon Musk
CFO / Finance Director
Bret Johnsen
Industry
Aerospace, Space Transportation
Website
spacex.com
Headquarters address
1 Rocket Road, Hawthorne, California, USA
Year founded
2002
LATEST China Science NEWS

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Biotech pioneer Alexey Amunts leaves Germany for China

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Alexey Amunts, who is internationally recognised for his breakthroughs in visualising life’s molecular machinery at near-atomic resolution, has joined China’s SMART academy in Shenzhen. Photo: Handout

Novartis, SciNeuro deal offers hope for 55 million suffering from Alzheimer’s

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China planning dozens of plants that use coal instead of oil to make plastics

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The first coal-to-plastics plant opened in Baotou in 2010. Photo: Handout

Did a bowl of millet help end a migrant crisis in China 1,500 years ago?

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Artefacts from the Sixteen Kingdoms period in Xian, Shaanxi province. Photo: China Cultural Relics News
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A rocket sits in the factory of Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology, a private rocket developer, in Wenchang, in south China’s Hainan province on December 30, 2025. Photo: Xinhua
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Chinese rocket shares slump after warnings on ‘irrational’ rally

Long-term prospects for sector are ‘very promising’, but market in the short term is ‘mainly driven by speculative sentiment’, analyst says.

US-China relations

US moves for AI dominance to outpace China with new ‘overwhelming’ strategy

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Iran

Iranians use Musk’s Starlink to pierce internet blackout during protests

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Science

China applies to put up 200,000 satellites after calling Starlink a crash risk

US Federal Communications Commission says it approved SpaceX to launch 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites.

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Several Chinese firms have applied to the International Telecommunication Union to put internet satellites in space as China and the US in a race to build megaconstellations. Illustration: Shutterstock
China economy

Editorial | Amid rivalry with US, silver can be seen as China’s new industrial leverage

Beijing’s export controls are simply about following the logic of the market and geopolitics in the interest of the nation.

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SpaceX will move 4,400 satellites to a lower orbit after China cited safety risk

Starlink’s Michael Nicolls declares ‘significant reconfiguration’ to be coordinated with regulators, other operators and US Space Command.

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SCMP Highlights

China’s record hypergravity machine, Nepal’s ‘bride buying’ probe: 7 highlights

From Beijing defending Taiwan drills to a Chinese snack stall drawing crowds of support, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting.

A view of the core of the CHIEF1300. The latest CHIEF1900 was built by Shanghai Electric Nuclear Power Group and shipped to Zhejiang University last week for installation. Photo: Xinhua
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China warns satellites from Elon Musk’s Starlink are ‘safety and security’ risk

Beijing tells UN meeting of near misses involving SpaceX satellites and warns they are being used by criminals and terrorists.

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IPO

Chinese rocket firm LandSpace moves towards US$1 billion IPO

Listing is the first accepted under a fast-track process for pre-revenue rocket companies, as China prioritises space development.

SCMP Highlights

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China’s Southern Regional Electricity Market, the world’s largest unified power market, has fully switched to the homegrown Tianquan solver, which is 14 per cent faster than US rivals. Photo: EPA-EFE
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Can Japan’s space industry regain thrust after H3 rocket failure?

Failure is inevitable, aerospace experts say, so Japan needs to be less afraid of making mistakes and move on.

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Japan’s H3 rocket carrying the Michibiki No 5 satellite lifts off from the Tanegashima Space Centre on Monday. Photo: Kyodo/Reuters
Robotics

Editorial | Keep humans in mind as China races ahead in robotics

The focus must be on finding a future where human creativity and robotic efficiency can work together rather than compete.

China stock market

Launch window opens for China’s space companies as LandSpace advances IPO

LandSpace has completed IPO tutoring with Chinese regulators, putting it a step closer to a Shanghai Star Market listing.

Science

Second reusable rocket recovery failure in a month puts China 10 years behind US

Chinese state-owned and commercial developers are racing to catch up on a decade of the technology’s deployment.

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China’s Long March 12A, the country’s first state-owned reusable rocket, has failed on its debut launch on Tuesday morning. Photo: Weibo
TikTok

Exclusive | TikTok owner ByteDance’s valuation hits US$500 billion as US plan advances

Figure marks a record for China’s tech giant, which will divest its US entity into a joint venture that includes Oracle and Silver Lake.

Investors are happy as ByteDance can continue to reap earnings from TikTok in the US, according to a source. Photo: Reuters
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German engineer becomes first wheelchair user to blast into space

Michaela Benthaus had thought her dreams of being an astronaut were over after she was badly injured in a mountain bike accident.

Starlink

Foreign ship gets penalty for using Starlink within Chinese waters, report says

Unidentified vessel was found using ‘satellite communication device manufactured by a foreign company’ during inspection at Ningbo port.

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Donald Trump

Trump’s space plan envisages US moon base amid race with China

Trump calls for moon landing in 2028, lunar base thereafter, as China targets the end of the decade for its first crewed landing.

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The Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida in 2022. Photo: Nasa via AP
China Future Tech briefing

Aerospace | Lunar race pits China against US as humans seek return to moon

China and the US are vying to put people on the moon for the first time in more than 50 years in a contest that is as much about economics and geopolitics as it is about technology.

United States

Musk ally Isaacman confirmed as Nasa chief amid moon race with China

The US billionaire with a passion for space, was nominated by Trump for a second time after a previous bid fell through.

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OpenAI in talks to raise US$10 billion from Amazon and adopt Trainium chips

The deal is under discussion could value OpenAI upwards of US$500 billion, a source said.

OpenAI was last valued at US$500 billion in an employee share sale. Photo: Reuters
Science

Race for AI space centres: why the US goes all in after China makes first move

Beijing and Washington battle for tech domination with next-gen plans to launch supercomputers into orbit and transform global connectivity.

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The push to deploy AI into orbit is a strategic gambit with far-reaching consequences for national security and economic dominance. Photo: Shutterstock
China's space programme

China launches satellite ‘super factory’ in bid to rival Elon Musk’s Starlink

The facility features a ‘factory-to-launch’ pipeline, expected to make it faster and cheaper to build low Earth orbit constellations.

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China's space programme

Explainer | Why China’s space sector is grabbing attention – including from Elon Musk

Chinese start-up LandSpace is set to launch its first reusable rocket on Saturday. If it succeeds, it will give China’s space sector a major boost.

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China’s Shenzhou 20 debris crisis: a catalyst for space war – or peace?

Crack in spacecraft window could signal a shift towards greater cooperation between Beijing and Washington over orbital junk, analysts say.

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A Long March-2F carrier rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft and a crew of three astronauts, lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi desert, in northwest China on April 24. Photo: AFP
Donald Trump

Ronaldo, Musk attend Trump’s White House dinner with Saudi crown prince

Elon Musk was among business titans invited to the gala dinner, as tensions with Donald Trump thaw.

US President Donald Trump speaks during the dinner in the East Room of the White House. Photo: AP
Space

Race for first private space station heats up as Nasa plans 2030 ISS retirement

Companies like Vast, Axiom and Blue Origin are in a fierce competition to develop commercial space habitats.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

China’s chief space contractor readies plans for tourism programme

A state-owned giant is expected to unveil a space tourism package this week, with suborbital trips priced lower than US rivals SpaceX and Blue Origin.

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