Key Assessments This Month
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China’s commercial space sector is entering a phase of building capabilities at scale.
Several commercial launch companies are advancing the development and testing of reusable rockets and rocket engines. The focus of industry competition will shift from “whether a company can succeed” to “whether it can operate reliably, efficiently, and at low cost.”
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Reusable rockets have become the central focus of competition among commercial launch companies, but their commercial viability will require long-term validation.
While reusability represents an important pathway toward lowering launch costs, the industry must still address such challenges as the number of times a vehicle can be reused, maintenance costs, rapid turnaround, and high reliability.
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Space-based computing is emerging as a new area of exploration for the commercial space industry, although it remains at an early stage.
In July, several space-based computing projects unveiled their plans, attracting growing interest from investors and technology companies. The underlying rationale is the increase in computing demand driven by AI development, together with the potential advantages of the space environment in areas such as energy supply and thermal management.
However, space-based computing still faces challenges involving power supply, heat dissipation, communications, costs, and application demand. In the near term, satellite edge computing and intelligent in-orbit processing of space-derived data may offer more practical development opportunities.
Global Commercial Space Data
Overview of key global commercial space data for July 2026:
Launch and Orbital Deployment Activity
In July 2026, a total of 26 space launches were conducted worldwide, placing 422 spacecraft into orbit.
- China: 9 launches and 58 spacecraft placed into orbit
- United States: 14 launches and 344 spacecraft placed into orbit
- Russia: 2 launches and 17 spacecraft placed into orbit
- India: 1 launch and 3 spacecraft placed into orbit
Constellation Deployment Progress
In July 2026, Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST) conducted two launches that placed 38 satellites for the Spacesail Constellation into orbit. By the end of July, the constellation had reached a cumulative total of 238 satellites launched.
SpaceX conducted 12 launches during the month, eight of which were Starlink missions that placed 207 Starlink satellites into orbit.
Amazon conducted one launch in July, deploying 29 Amazon Leo satellites.
Financing and Capital Markets
In July 2026, the global commercial space sector recorded 33 financing events, with disclosed funding exceeding RMB 25.261 billion.
Of these, 26 took place in China, representing more than RMB 8.27 billion in disclosed funding.
The investments were primarily concentrated in the following areas:
SpaceX Updates
In July, Falcon 9 conducted 12 launches and placed 344 spacecraft into orbit. Eight of the launches were Starlink missions, deploying a total of 207 Starlink satellites.
From January through July 2026, Falcon 9 completed 88 launches and placed 2,159 spacecraft into orbit. Of these, 60 were Starlink missions, accounting for 1,589 Starlink satellites.
On July 9, 2026, Falcon 9 booster B1067 completed its 36th flight, setting a new reuse record for an individual Falcon 9 booster.
According to reports dated July 16, 2026, SpaceX raised the power specifications of its new AI1 satellite. Peak power was increased by 67% to 250 kilowatts, while average power was increased by 33% to 160 kilowatts. The satellite’s previous specifications were 150 kilowatts of peak power and 120 kilowatts of average power.
According to reports dated July 25, 2026, the system automatically aborted the scheduled ignition during SpaceX’s Starship Flight Test 13 (IFT-13) after four engines failed to ignite.
