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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →China’s rocket that most closely matches the “Starship clone” headlines is Long March 9, a planned super-heavy launch vehicle. A U.S. House committee hearing charter describes an updated concept as methane-fueled and fully reusable, with a visual resemblance to SpaceX’s Starship. That makes “Starship-like” a reasonable shorthand for the reported design direction—but it does not show that Long March 9 is a copy, shares Starship’s engineering, or has demonstrated comparable capability.
What is China’s Starship-like rocket called?
It is Long March 9, a planned super-heavy rocket associated with China’s state aerospace sector. The U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s hearing charter describes a change in its architecture: an earlier expendable design with four boosters gave way to a concept described as fully reusable and methane-fueled. The charter also says the updated vehicle looks similar to Starship.
The comparison is about the publicly described concept, not proof of direct copying. The charter is a summary of a developing Chinese program, not a detailed, official Long March 9 specification.
How does Long March 9 compare with SpaceX’s Starship?
Both descriptions point to ambitious, reusable launch systems, but the available evidence is uneven: the Long March 9 details come from a committee charter, while the Starship role below is SpaceX’s own description. The comparison should not be read as a matched performance assessment.
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| Comparison | Long March 9 | SpaceX Starship |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | The updated concept is described by the hearing charter as methane-fueled and fully reusable. | SpaceX describes Starship—the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket together—as a fully reusable transportation system. |
| Stated role | The charter says it is being developed for deep-space missions and large-scale infrastructure deployment. | SpaceX says it is designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. |
| Demonstrated status in the cited material | No Long March 9 flight or recovery demonstration is reported. | The cited SpaceX page describes the system’s intended role; it is not used here to establish a specific flight milestone. |
| Schedule and payload | No confirmed flight date or payload capacity is established by the cited sources. Ars Technica reported a possible debut in the 2030s. | No directly comparable payload figure or schedule is established by the cited official page. |
SpaceX’s official Starship page calls the combined spacecraft and booster a “fully reusable transportation system.” That shared phrase does not establish equivalent payload, cost, reliability, or readiness. The cited material offers no confirmed Long March 9 payload figure or matched comparison with the current Starship configuration.
Has Long March 9 flown or recovered a booster?
Not according to the cited sources. They describe a developing vehicle and do not report a Long March 9 flight or stage-recovery test. Ars Technica’s December 2025 coverage said China’s smaller Zhuque-3 and Long March 12A had reached orbit on their first flights that month, but neither recovered its booster on those attempts. Those milestones belong to those rockets, not Long March 9.
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What do China’s other reusable rockets show?
They show activity in China’s reusable-launch sector, but they are not evidence that Long March 9 has flown or recovered a stage.
Zhuque-3
LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 is a separate, smaller commercial rocket. China’s National Space Administration (CNSA) reported that Zhuque-3 Y2 launched and its first stage landed successfully on August 19, 2026. CNSA’s account says, in translation: “At 7:35 on August 19, 2026, the Zhuque-3 Y2 launch vehicle lifted off from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone; at 7:41, its first stage successfully completed land recovery according to plan, and the flight mission was a complete success.” This is a translation of CNSA’s Chinese report, and the achievement is Zhuque-3’s.
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CNSA describes Zhuque-3 as a reusable liquid-oxygen/methane rocket developed by LandSpace. Its reported dimensions—66.1 metres long, a 4.5-metre diameter for the first- and second-stage bodies, and a 5.2-metre fairing diameter—are Zhuque-3 measurements, not Long March 9 specifications.
Long March 12A
Long March 12A is another distinct vehicle. The December 2025 Ars Technica report discusses it alongside Zhuque-3 as part of China’s attempts to recover boosters on smaller rockets. Neither vehicle’s flight results establish Long March 9’s development status.
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When might Long March 9 fly?
The reviewed sources do not establish a confirmed launch date. Ars Technica reported that a debut could come in the 2030s; treat that as a reported possibility, not an official schedule. The committee charter gives no flight date, and it does not confirm a payload capacity.
Broader Chinese launch-sector figures should not be mistaken for Long March 9 performance. MERICS’s February 2026 report gives comparative launch-cost estimates, including a projected Starship figure, but those estimates are not Long March 9 prices or measured costs for a flown vehicle. They do not establish what Long March 9 would cost to operate.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallWhat would show that the comparison is more than a resemblance?
The meaningful test is whether Long March 9 advances from a described concept to flight testing and demonstrates repeatable stage recovery. Until then, the supported comparison is limited: both programs are described as fully reusable, but Long March 9’s specifications, schedule, and demonstrated capability are not established by these sources.
Quick Recap
- CNSA: “我国首次成功实施重复使用运载火箭陆地回收” (August 19, 2026)
- U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology: “Strategic Trajectories: Assessing China’s Space Rise and the Risks to U.S. Leadership” hearing charter
- MERICS: “China’s Space Economy: Low Earth Orbit” (February 2026)
- Ars Technica: “China just carried out its second reusable launch attempt in three weeks” (December 2025)
- SpaceX: Starship
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