SpaceX Leads Reusable Rocket Race, While China Continues Crashing Boosters To Earth

As of early last week, Elon Musk’s SpaceX had completed 356 launches, 319 landings, and 290 relights, according to flight data from Fox News. This is a monumental achievement for the world’s first private space company to pioneer and deploy reusable rockets. 

Falcon 9 lands for the 300th time pic.twitter.com/syimP1jcxl

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 8, 2024

The reusable Falcon 9 rocket has dominated the launch industry and propelled America into the number one spot in the global space race. 

Falcon 9’s first stage lands on Just Read the Instructions, completing our 250th droneship landing pic.twitter.com/TOeTB1RGDr

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 20, 2024

Data from BryceTech shows SpaceX launched 525 spacecraft into orbit in the first quarter. This is more than any other space program worldwide, surpassing China and Russia by a considerable margin. 

SpaceX launched about 429,125 kg of spacecraft upmass in the quarter, significantly outpacing China’s rocket program (China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation), which launched a measly 29,426 kg. 

SpaceX’s next-generation Starship rocket, which successfully completed a test flight earlier this month, could indicate that America’s rocket program will lead through 2030.

Super Heavy landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico pic.twitter.com/lnjCSk2Cz6

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 8, 2024

Pivoting to China, where reusable rockets have yet to be deployed, a Long March 2C rocket launched days ago shows the rocket booster falling back to Earth, landing in a populated area with people running for cover. 

The booster fell to Earth near Guiding County, Qiandongnan Prefecture in Guizhou province, according to another post. An airspace closure notice for the mission established a temporary danger area containing Guiding County, Guizhou. –SpaceNews

🙀 Behind the scenes of SVOM launch https://t.co/Fcc0OAY3ac pic.twitter.com/5fiM4oz2GY

— China ‘N Asia Spaceflight 🚀𝕏 🛰️ (@CNSpaceflight) June 22, 2024

What’s evident is that China has yet to master reusable rockets, while SpaceX successfully landed its first reusable Falcon 9 rocket in 2015.

What @elonmusk and @SpaceX have done with reusable rockets – Falcon 9 & Starship – is crazy. We are already taking this tech for granted. Landing boosters on a barge floating in the ocean – NUTS.

Meanwhile the Chinese can’t or won’t even try.

I guess technically it’s standing. pic.twitter.com/8phUImXzzW

— Jeff Cloud (@jCloudyPants) June 23, 2024

Earlier this year, there were reports that Beijing-based Orienspace was working on reusable rockets, but the first test flight might not occur until late 2025 or even 2026.