Hi there folks.
Starting this Friday I am going to start posting the podcast via Substack. This will simply be the episode, with show notes. You will still be able to listen to the podcast on your preferred player, like YouTube or Apple Podcasts.
Also, over the next couple of weeks I will share with you some of the recent episodes. I hate to, however briefly, clutter your inbox, but really, there are a number of great interviews that I think you will enjoy.
SpaceX Earnings and Share Unlock Livestream
This Friday, August 7, at 10:30 a.m. ET
The DownLink Podcast and STAX Talk are teaming up to bring you a livestream with our favorite money guys: Chris Quilty, Founder and CEO of Quilty Space, George Pullen, Chief Economist at MilkyWayEconomy, and Lou Whiteman, stock analyst at The Motley Fool.
We’re going to talk about
* SpaceX (SPCX) earnings and share unlock * Blue Origin and private capital * Hughes Satellite Systems’ bankruptcy * PE capital trends * Start-Up environment *
If you want a head start, you can read the “SpaceX Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results.”
What’s in this episode
China is making great leaps forward in the space domain that are reinforcing its position as a major spacefaring nation, as well as a trading partner and ally, specifically to Iran, Russia and across Africa. Technologically, July has been particularly busy, with a reusable rocket test, another sea launch, and a former space chief expelled from the Communist Party on corruption charges that include trading power and money for sex.
In this episode I’m joined by Malcolm Davis, Senior Analyst, Defence Strategy Program, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and Brendan Mulvaney, Director, China Aerospace Studies Institute, Air University.
You can watch this podcast here on YouTube.
Technological developments
On July 10, a Chinese recovery ship, rigged with a net, caught the Long March 10B’s first-stage booster after separation, making China the second nation to recover an orbital rocket booster after the US and SpaceX. On July 22, in the East China Sea, Shandong-based Orienspace launched its Gravity-1 rocket, the first time in open water, successfully carrying nine satellites into orbit.
The China National Space Administration, or CNSA, announced on July 6 that Tianwen-2 had reached the asteroid Kamo’oalewa, which maintains an average distance of about 14.5 million kilometers from Earth, roughly 38 times farther away than the Moon. Chinese researchers also logged a record-setting laser link with a satellite in geosynchronous orbit this year.
Iran’s growing dependence on China’s benevolence
Iran has been migrating toward BeiDou since the 2025 war, with China’s own embassy in Tehran claiming the transition is complete. While a full migration away from U.S.-owned GPS satellites is unclear, independent reporting points to improved missile accuracy consistent with BeiDou use.
At least four Chinese companies have been tied to Iran’s space-based intelligence capability — one built and sold Iran an entire satellite, another supplied the ground infrastructure to operate it, and two more separately provided satellite imagery directly — prompting fresh US sanctions in May.
Another high-level space scalp
The Chinese Communist Party expelled Ma Xingrui from the Politburo and the party on July 14 on charges of bribery, family corruption, and what Chinese authorities describe as “power-for-sex and money-for-sex transactions.” Ma was the former head of the China National Space Administration and chief commander of the Chang’e 3 mission, China’s first lunar rover landing.
Notably, Ma served as China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation’s general manager, the company’s highest operational role, from 2007 to 2013. CASC is China’s main state contractor for both space hardware (rockets, spacecraft) and missiles.
From 2021 to 2025 Ma was the Secretary of the CPC Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee (commonly referred to as the Xinjiang Party Secretary). Human Rights Watch reports the formalization and systemization of mass incarceration (more than half a million), forced labor, and coercive birth control, as well as a continuation of torture and sexual violence under his leadership.
General Secretary Xi Jinping rewarded Ma by elevating him to the Politburo on October 23, 2022, roughly 10 months after arriving in Urumqi.
Karma?
FYSA:
On July 24, China added 14 European entities to its export control list, retaliating a day after EU sanctions on Chinese firms tied to Russia’s war effort. Six of the 14 have confirmed ties to space programs, and three of those six connect to US space systems.
Companies with confirmed space business:
Rheinmetall AG — builds SAR reconnaissance satellites via a joint venture with ICEYE; builds military satcom via a joint venture with OHB; partnered with US firm Vantor (formerly Maxar Intelligence) to integrate its satellite imaging constellation
InPACT S.A. — largest Western producer of Indium Phosphide wafers, used in space-communication components
Vigo Photonics S.A. — its infrared detectors flew on NASA’s Artemis II and the Mars Curiosity rover
Wrocław University of Science and Technology — ESA-supported partner developing the E-SSA satellite IoT waveform
Ekspla UAB — its lasers operate at satellite laser-ranging stations in Italy and Poland that feed NASA’s tracking archive
III-V Lab — won a CNES-funded award for a space-qualified laser diode project; separately did ESA-funded work on ultrashort-pulse laser technology for space applications
Reading
China
China’s Shijian-31 satellite is sweeping GEO using a unique orbit — Andrew Jones, SpaceNews, July 22, 2026
China unveils members of state-backed commercial space consortium — Andrew Jones, SpaceNews, July 10, 2026
Corruption in the People’s Liberation Army — China Aerospace Studies Institute, July 13, 2026
“The Xinjiang Data Project” — Australian Strategic Policy Institute
Lunar
"Getting ready for lunar planetary defense" — Peter Garretson, American Foreign Policy Council, July 13, 2026
"NASA Will Attempt to Observe Rocket Part's Lunar Impact" — Jimi Russell, NASA, August 4, 2026
Celestial happenings
"Don't Miss August 12's Solar Eclipse And Perseid Peak" — Jamie Carter, Forbes, August 2, 2026
Ad Astra! Laura
AI-GENERATED TRANSCRIPT: The episode transcript text was produced using automated speech recognition. Technical terminology may contain inaccuracies. This is provided for accessibility and is not a verbatim record. Please refer to audio for the definitive version.
