section_path: Influence on space industry
section_name: Influence on space industry
paragraph_text: Influence on space industry
  
  The Russian space agency has launched the development of Soyuz-7 which shares many similarities with Falcon 9, including a reusable first stage that will land vertically with the help of legs. The first launch is planned for 2028-2030.
  
  China's Beijing Tianbing Technology company is developing Tianlong-3, which is benchmarked against Falcon 9. In 2024, China’s central government designated commercial space as a key industry for support, with the reusable medium-lift launchers being necessary to deploy China’s planned low Earth orbit communications megaconstellations.