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

China offers full-time job to top European immunologist Andrew Macpherson

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On January 1, 2026, Andrew Macpherson (left), a professor at Switzerland’s University of Bern and its university hospital, joined the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) on a full-time basis. Photo: handout

China turns mega-project failure into defining moment in modern engineering

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The 6.4km (4-mile) Jiangyin-Jingjiang Yangtze River Tunnel is a major infrastructure project in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. Photo: Handout

China-led team replicates human embryo ‘invasion’ of the womb for the first time

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A China-led team has created the world’s first mini-womb 3D model on a microfluidic chip which could help women struggling with fertility to get pregnant. Photo: Getty Images

US House lawmakers abandon bid to bring back controversial China Initiative

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Asian-American advocacy organisations have lobbied the US Congress to oppose attempts to revive the China Initiative. Photo: Getty Images

China cites Biden’s message to Xi that Japan could build nukes ‘overnight’

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A new report out of China says Japan has stockpiled plutonium far exceeding its needs for civilian nuclear power and has the tech foundation to develop nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers. Photo: Kyodo
MORE China Science NEWS
Silver bars are displayed at an office in Hong Kong, on August 20, 2020. Photo: May Tse
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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.

Science

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

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SCMP Highlights

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

Science

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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SpaceX aims to build a constellation of more than 42,000 satellites when the Starlink network is complete. Photo: Reuters
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

How China cracked US ‘super code’, health benefits of lard: 7 science highlights

From China building world’s largest smart transformer to health benefits of lard, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting.

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Japan

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
United States

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.

Lunar race pits China against US as humans seek return to moon
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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Artificial intelligence

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.

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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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Science

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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United States

Bezos’ Blue Origin launches huge rocket for milestone Mars mission

In a remarkable first, Jeff Bezos’ company successfully recovered the New Glenn booster, matching the cost-saving achievement by rival SpaceX.

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The giant New Glenn rocket from billionaire Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin launching from Florida. Photo: Jennifer Briggs/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
China Future Tech briefing

Aerospace | Musk’s SpaceX faces China threat in reusable rocket race

At least nine reusable rocket projects are nearing maiden flights in China, posing a potential threat to Elon Musk-led SpaceX’s grip on the commercial satellite launch market.

Musk’s SpaceX faces China threat in reusable rocket race
France

‘War of tomorrow will begin in space,’ Macron says, singling out Russia

The leader unveiled a multibillion euro increase in French military spending for space activities, citing Russia’s threat of nuclear arms.

United States

Tesla shareholders approve stratospheric US$1 trillion Musk pay package

The unprecedented agreement paves the way for the world’s richest person to become the first trillionaire.

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