Elon Musk once floated a future of 42,000 Starlink satellites, and everyone assumed the United States would dominate the orbital scoreboard by default.
That assumption did not age well.
Chinese firms quietly followed with ITU filings for up to ~200,000 satellites, signaling that space is no longer just about launches, but about who claims orbital real estate first.
But that only put them at second place
The first place however went to Rwanda, now associated with plans and filings reaching ~320,000 satellites, via commercial partnerships and regulatory registrations.
Reality check:
Starlink operates ~9,400 satellites today.
China’s and Rwanda’s numbers remain ambitions on file, not objects in orbit.
Welcome to the modern space race with Chinese characteristics.
Where the real competition is no longer rockets,but filings, and regulatory arbitrage.
Can you see the parallel with Chinese patents filings?