China Lands Reusable Rocket On Barge, But SpaceX Remains Years Ahead

China successfully landed the first-stage booster of a Long March 10B rocket on a floating barge during an orbital launch test earlier Friday, marking the first major step in reusable launch technology, albeit roughly a decade behind Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“This mission … signifies a historic breakthrough in China’s reusable rocket technology and a solid foundation for accelerating the improvement of China’s space access capabilities,” the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation wrote in a social media post.

China has achieved its first-ever controlled recovery of a rocket booster, a breakthrough for the country’s reusable space tech. On the maiden flight of Long March-10B, the rocket successfully placed its payload into orbit, and its first stage returned and was captured by a net… pic.twitter.com/YZRcgbneTg

— China Xinhua Sci-Tech (@XHscitech) July 10, 2026

Reusable rockets are key to SpaceX’s dominance of the global launch market, with Musk’s company having mastered booster recovery and reuse a decade ago:

• December 21, 2015: First successful landing of an orbital-class Falcon 9 booster.
• April 8, 2016: First successful landing on an ocean drone ship.
• March 30, 2017: First relaunch of a previously flown Falcon 9 booster, marking the start of operational reuse.

Ten Years Ago: SpaceX Falcon 9 First Stage Landing  

Blue Origin, SpaceX’s closest U.S. rival, completed the first successful landing of a New Glenn first-stage booster last November.

pic.twitter.com/0WzaWjjjL9

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) April 19, 2026

BryceTech’s latest launch report for Q1 2026 shows how SpaceX’s reusable-rocket technology has transformed Musk’s space and AI company into a market leader.

SpaceX launched 40 rockets during the quarter, compared with 12 for China, five for Rocket Lab, and four for Russia, reinforcing the widening gap between SpaceX and the rest of the global launch industry.

More evidence of SpaceX’s dominance:

And again:

SpaceX is a major reason America’s space program continues to lead the world today and should maintain that lead through 2030.

Investors are waiting for the commercialization of Starship…

84% chance Starship is fully reusable before 2028. https://t.co/PZiahSxMgo

— Polymarket (@Polymarket) July 7, 2026

With SpaceX maintaining roughly a decade-long technological lead over nation-state-backed programs such as China’s, it is little surprise that Wall Street analysts are piling in with bullish ratings on SPCX. Raymond James is the most aggressive, setting a Street-high 12-month price target of $800. Read the report here.