SpaceX Starship was run through a wet dress rehearsal for launch. Watch amazing drone view of the frosty rocket as it was filled with over 10 million pounds of propellant. Credit: Space.com | footage

Elon Musk's SpaceX is eyeing an initial public offering that could be the largest ever, at least partially driven by a plan to launch AI data centers into orbit.

Every other week, it seems, a new Chinese launch company pops up with a rocket design and a plan to reach orbit within a few years. For a long time, the majority of these companies revealed designs that looked a lot like SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX has been given a major boost for its Starship operations at Cape Canaveral in Florida after the Department of the Air Force (DAF) gave the green light for the company to develop the Space Launch Complex-37 (SLC-37) launch facility.

After waiting the requisite time for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), SpaceX now has environmental approval to build a Starship launch complex at SLC-37. Not much has changed between the draft and final EISs, but there is still tons of information about where the launch pads will be built, along with some new statistics on the tank farm.

Elon Musk-led SpaceX is reportedly targeting a gigantic $1.5 TRILLION valuation, and when it goes IPO in 2026, would be the biggest stock-market listing.

Florida's first landmark Starship launch could take flight in early- to mid-2026, Space Launch Delta 45 commander Col. Brian Chatman said.

Even a heavy lift rocket China’s national space officials showed off a year ago bore a striking resemblance to Starship, from a “two-stage, fully reusable configuration” right down to the aerodynamic flaps.

China might be rushing ahead with its own Long March rocket designs, but some of its aerospace companies are keen to borrow from Western competition. Falcon 9 clones are becoming relatively common, though none of them have landed successfully yet. And still, some companies are pushing ahead to copy the Starship design, Ars Technica reports.

A growing number of Chinese companies are creating rockets similar to SpaceX’s mega-rocket, and they are not hiding it.