China's private rocket industry is entering a make-or-break decade, as low-Earth orbit satellite demand, reusable launch technology, and STAR Market reforms drive the race to build a "China SpaceX."

Rocket Lab is taking a major step toward competing more directly with SpaceX, announcing an agreement to acquire satellite communications provider Iridium Communications in an approximately US$8 billion cash-and-stock transaction. The deal transforms Rocket Lab from a launch and spacecraft manufacturer into a fully vertically integrated space company with its own global satellite communications network, a strategy widely viewed by the market as mirroring SpaceX's integrated business model.