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

China ’s space agency has unveiled an updated design of its first super-heavy reusable rocket which looks eerily similar to SpaceX ’s Starship launch vehicle. New images of the rocket, released at a major airshow in Zhuhai, China, indicate that the plan for the country’s Long March 9 rocket is a departure from the original design.

China recently showed off a concept for its upcoming Long March 9, a ultra heavy-lift, reusable rocket meant to

(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.

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

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

China's Long March rocket family has been growing in recent years, but the current lineup doesn't include a super-heavy lift vehicle to compete with SpaceX. The Long March 9 was announced in 2016 as a big but pretty typical rocket,