When Chinese space officials unveiled the design for China's first super-heavy launch vehicle nearly a decade ago, it looked like a fairly conventional booster. The rocket is completely expendable, with three stages and solid motors strapped to its sides. Since then, the Asian country has been modifying the design of the rocket, which it has dubbed the Long March 9, in response to the reusable rocket being developed by SpaceX. As of two years ago, China had repurposed its design to make the first stage of its rocket reusable.
Now, the design of the Long March 9 rocket has changed again, according to information released at a major air show in Zhuhai, China. This time, the plans for the Long March 9 rocket look almost entirely a clone of SpaceX’s Starship rocket.
According to its latest specifications, the first stage of the Long March 9 rocket will be powered by 30 YF-215 engines, which are full-flow staged combustion engines fueled by methane and liquid oxygen, each with a thrust of approximately 200 tons. In comparison, the first stage of "Starship" is powered by 33 "Raptor" engines, also fueled by methane and liquid oxygen, each with a thrust of approximately 280 tons.
The new specifications also include a fully reusable configuration of the rocket, with an upper stage that looks very similar to Starship's second stage, complete with flaps in similar locations. According to a presentation at the air show, China plans to test-fly this launch vehicle for the first time in 2033, nearly ten years later.
In related news, last week Cosmoleap, a quasi-private Chinese aerospace startup, announced plans to develop a fully reusable rocket within the next few years. An animated video released with the funding announcement shows the company trying to emulate the "grabbing the tower with chopsticks" method that SpaceX successfully employed during Starship's fifth flight test last month.
This is not the first time that Chinese rocket projects have imitated SpaceX, such as the Space Pioneer plan to develop a clone version of Falcon 9. Both state-run rocket agencies and the company's private sector counterparts are imitating SpaceX's approach and trying to catch up.
Of course, China's aerospace industry trying to copy the ideas of its Western rivals is nothing new. To its credit, China's aerospace industry recognizes that the future of space is fully reusable, and even China's state-owned enterprises are realigning in this direction.
By contrast, U.S. policymakers appear determined to force NASA to continue building its ultra-expensive and expendable Space Launch System rockets for decades. This drains NASA's budget that could be used for technological advancements that would put America's civilian space program ahead of China's.
NASA and the Chinese space agency are currently engaged in a second space race, with both countries building an international alliance to explore the lunar south pole region and eventually establish settlements there. Because the area near the South Pole—especially near craters where water ice is likely to exist—is relatively limited, winning this race is critical to long-term space ambitions.
China intends to use a more traditional rocket, the Long March 10 launch vehicle, for its initial moon landing mission. These initial lunar missions could only last a few days. China is banking on the more powerful, reusable Long March 9 to support larger lunar operations.
So if the ultimate goal is to develop lunar settlements, the real winner is not the country or space agency that puts astronauts on the lunar surface first. Rather, it is the country that is the first to develop a fully reusable Super Heavy launch vehicle and to fund projects that take advantage of this revolutionary capability. With Starship now flying, the United States is currently leading the race.
But no matter what, the race is not over yet, and the latest design of the Long March 9 shows that China knows where the end point is.