But let's have some perspective, please. NASA was the beneficiary of years of research in engineering and basic science by the German government. They didn't

But let's have some perspective, please. NASA was the beneficiary of years of research in engineering and basic science by the German government. They didn't make anything as a result of their own original effort. So what? Nobody reinvents the wheel if they don't have to. And I don't know why you think China started behind SpaceX. China benefited from US technical assistance in a way that SpaceX didn't.