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Space Exploration Technologies Corp. CFO Bret Johnsen said China has an “amazing space program” but still falls far short of matching Starship, arguing SpaceX’s reusable launch system could become an advantage as the company pushes artificial intelligence infrastructure into orbit.

China Narrows Gap In Reusable Rocketry

“I think the Chinese are trying to get there, right? To their credit, they have got an amazing space program,” Johnsen said Thursday at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia + Technology Conference. “But not on a Starship level anytime soon, let us put it that way.”

WATCH: @SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen speaks at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference: https://t.co/iThVaEpa7Q

— Goldman Sachs (@GoldmanSachs) September 10, 2026

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China is making progress. Reuters reported last month that LandSpace successfully landed the first stage of its Zhuque-3 orbital-class rocket, becoming China’s first private launcher to achieve a ground-based orbital-booster recovery. The methane-fueled rocket can carry about 14.2 metric tons to low Earth orbit, as China accelerates its reusable-rocket push.

Starship Reuse Could Transform Launch Economics

SpaceX, however, is betting on full reuse of both Starship stages. Johnsen said “the moment when it becomes better than terrestrial is all about reusability,” pointing to more than a decade of Falcon 9 booster reflights.

“When you get into, hopefully as soon as next year, where you’re reflying both first and second stage of Starship, the cost curve goes down dramatically,” he said. SpaceX’s prospectus says Starship V3 is expected to carry 100 metric tons and that the company believes full and rapid reusability could eventually reduce the cost to orbit by 99% or more versus NASA’s historical average of $18,500 per kilogram.

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Orbital AI Bets On Falling Costs

“In terrestrial, everything’s getting actually more expensive,” Johnsen said, citing rising power, cooling, buildings, construction and real-estate costs. By contrast, he said orbital compute should benefit as Starship becomes more efficient and satellite deployment costs fall.

“The cost structure will go down related to the deployment cost,” Johnsen said, adding orbital compute could reach parity with terrestrial infrastructure “maybe as soon as next year.”

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SpaceX executives have previously argued Starship could make large-scale orbital compute practical as terrestrial data centers face power, land and cooling constraints. Johnsen said reusable rocketry could “drive our cost of compute dramatically lower than others in the industry.”

The challenge is proving full Starship reuse. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said the company could attempt its first upper-stage tower catch within months, with a first reflight possible by late 2026 or early 2027.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

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