China unveils new heavy rocket that looks eerily similar to SpaceX Starship - Chinese rocket design even has aerodynamic flaps positioned at similar place as Starship

China recently unveiled a new concept design for its heavy-lift rocket, which appears to have been directly inspired by SpaceX's Starship.

When Chinese space officials unveiled the design for the country's first super heavy lift rocket nearly a decade ago, it looked like a fairly conventional booster. The rocket was fully expendable, with three stages and solid motors strapped onto its sides.

(LEFT) SpaceX launched its fourth Starship test flight from the company’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, in June 2024; (RIGHT) China’s Long March 9 modified rocket design recently unveiled at Zhuhai. Credit: SpaceX.

Starship’s Super Heavy booster, which forms the first stage of the world’s biggest rocket, was rolled out less than two weeks after SpaceX’s last successful test flight that saw the rocket caught by the launch tower’s “chopsticks” for the first time.

The startup, Cosmoleap, also aims to build a rocket larger than Starship, the world's most powerful launch system.

The Long March 9 super heavy-lift rocket made an appearance at a major airshow recently—and looks awfully familiar.