That China has admired and followed closely what SpaceX has so far managed to do is hardly breaking news. Today one of the leading members of the global space race alongside USA, the European Union, Japan and India, China has long shared many ambitious plans that have clearly aimed to at least match other nations, foot for foot. Now, though, in a rather bemusing turn of things, China appears to have taken to matching space achievements by Western nations a bit too personally. The resultant was a presentation that recently showed a sub-orbital earth to earth rocket, and while many are working on the concept, China won the distinction of designing a rocket that looks, inch for inch, similar to a SpaceX Starship render from four years ago.
In a presentation by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) at the recent Chinese national space day in the city of Nanjing, a concept video showed a vertical liftoff rocket that literally looked exactly the way Elon Musk’s headlining SpaceX Starship did. From the shiny, stainless steel exterior, to seamlessly separating first and second stages, to even the general purpose that China most likely claims to have come up with all by itself.
In 2017, SpaceX had shown a concept video demonstrating how its Starship could be used in sub-orbital flight for travel from anywhere to anywhere on earth in less than one hour. The company had claimed travel time of New York to Shanghai in 39 minutes – reaching speeds that even the peak era of hypersonic flight travel could never make possible. However, SpaceX has since focused on its affordable spaceflight ideas by almost perfecting the catching of its first stage rocket booster in the middle of the sea, as well as a more advanced cockpit experience aboard the Crew Dragon, among other things.
As for China, the state sponsored CALT reportedly aims to use its Starship ripoff to deliver cargo around the world by 2035, and take passengers aboard by 2045. In future, China seemingly also aims to rip off the SpaceX Falcon Heavy, which is now expected to come in a heavy payload lifter model called the Long March 9. Given how China is already famous for copies of iconic West products such as Land Rover (aka Land Wind X7) and Rolls-Royce (aka Geely E6), it may not be entirely surprising that China’s gone this way in space, too.
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