Overview

• Speaking at the Air & Space Forces Association conference, senior leaders said Beijing’s push into reusable orbital launch could reshape the strategic balance once it reaches maturity.
• The United States retains the operational advantage led by SpaceX’s high-cadence reuse, with Blue Origin and Rocket Lab working to scale but still well behind.
• A recent in-orbit refueling between China’s Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 in geostationary orbit was described by a Space Force intelligence leader as game changing.
• China has begun building out Medium Earth Orbit, first with Skynet broadband in 2024 and now with the Yaogan 45 remote sensing satellite in an unusual MEO slot that signals layered resiliency.
• Space Force is tracking multiple TJS spacecraft that launched this year and maneuver atypically in GEO, as a new Commercial Space Federation report warns China’s expanding civil and commercial sector presents an immediate challenge.