SpaceX is the privately run space exploration company run by Elon Musk. The Tesla majority shareholder has his sights set on space and wants to explore Mars soon. While his SpaceX program is doing well in the United States, China has begun to allow private space exploration companies to work outside the control of the government. These private companies could soon surpass SpaceX’s impact outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
Testing Rockets
In August 2019, a rocket in China took off from the ground, shot up to 300 meters high and hovered there for about a minute. The rocket then made its way back down to the ground without sustaining any damage.
While this is something we would come to expect from SpaceX or Blue Origin, it was a rocket from Chinese startup LinkSpace. Many companies like LinkSpace have emerged after the Chinese government gave the okay to allow companies to operate in the space sector.
Growing Fast
There are now estimated to be around 100 companies working in the space sector coming from China. LinkSpace was one of the first, and after four years of development, their rockets are beginning to push the boundaries. After the success of their American counterparts like SpaceX, there is encouragement for companies to invest in space exploration in China.
The success of LinkSpace’s rocket flight is even more impressive when considering that China has essentially received zero help from the United States in space exploration. Only a small amount of help has come from Russia.
For now, it seems that these private Chinese space exploration companies are focusing on smaller projects. That is leaving the Chinese government to work on major exploration for now. The success of private companies like LinkSpace could change the landscape of the space sector in favor of China over world leaders.