Another Chinese Starship Replica Emerges
▼ Summary
– Chinese launch companies have historically designed rockets resembling SpaceX’s Falcon 9, with the Zhuque-3 being a recent example.
– There has been a recent shift in China, with companies and the government now focusing on developing fully reusable rockets similar to SpaceX’s Starship.
– The Chinese government redesigned its Long March 9 super-heavy lift rocket to mimic the fully reusable Starship design.
– Private Chinese company Cosmoleap announced plans for a reusable “Leap” rocket that would emulate SpaceX’s tower catch method.
– Another firm, Astronstone, is developing a similar stainless steel, methane-fueled rocket and openly aligns its technical approach with SpaceX.
The landscape of commercial spaceflight in China is rapidly evolving, with a noticeable shift in the types of rockets companies are now choosing to emulate. For years, the dominant trend saw numerous startups unveiling designs heavily inspired by SpaceX’s Falcon 9, a reliable and proven medium-lift vehicle. This pattern is now giving way to a new wave of ambition, as both state-owned enterprises and private firms set their sights on a more audacious target: developing fully reusable super-heavy launch systems that bear a striking resemblance to SpaceX’s Starship.
This strategic pivot became evident with a major announcement from the Chinese government in late 2024. The state-run rocket manufacturer revealed a completely redesigned Long March 9, the nation’s planned super-heavy lift rocket. Gone was the original concept of an expendable, three-stage vehicle with solid rocket boosters. In its place, officials presented a new design featuring a reusable stainless steel first stage and a similarly reusable upper stage, a configuration that mirrors the fundamental architecture of SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy booster.
The influence is not confined to government programs. Private launch companies are actively joining this new trend. One firm, Cosmoleap, announced funding and plans to develop its own fully reusable “Leap” rocket within the next few years. Promotional material included an animated video showing the rocket’s first stage being caught mid-air by mechanical arms on a launch tower, a clear nod to the innovative “chopstick” recovery system pioneered by SpaceX for Starship.
Another company, Astronstone, made its intentions equally clear in a June announcement. It stated it was developing a stainless steel rocket powered by methane fuel, with plans for a similar tower-catch mechanism for stage recovery. The company was remarkably direct about its inspiration, publicly stating it was “fully aligning its technical approach with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.” This candid admission highlights the powerful gravitational pull SpaceX’s engineering philosophy now exerts on global aerospace development.
This collective move toward Starship-like vehicles represents a significant evolution from the earlier phase of Chinese commercial rocketry. The first of the Falcon 9-inspired rockets, LandSpace’s Zhuque-3, recently completed its inaugural flight. While its primary mission was successful, the rocket failed in its attempt to land, a complex maneuver that even SpaceX took many attempts to perfect. More rockets of this class are expected to debut, but the industry’s leading edge is already looking beyond them.
The rationale behind this shift is clear. Starship represents the next logical step in launch technology, promising a dramatic reduction in the cost of accessing space through full and rapid reusability. By targeting this architecture, Chinese entities are signaling their intent to compete not just in the current market, but in the future one that SpaceX is actively trying to create. Whether these new vehicles will succeed in their ambitious timelines remains to be seen, but their emergence underscores a fundamental change in strategic thinking, moving from replication of a current workhorse to emulation of a next-generation paradigm.
(Source: Ars Technica)
