The Net and the Chopsticks: SpaceX Is Winning a Race China Is Redesigning
By Ervin Dhima
SpaceX flew 165 missions in 2025 and owns two of every three satellites in orbit — yet on July 10, 2026, China caught a falling booster in a net at sea and became the second nation ever to recover an orbital-class rocket. Inside the two incompatible systems — one company's iteration speed versus one state's industrial patience — now racing for the orbital economy and the Moon.