China unveils new rocket concept that's a blatant copy of SpaceX's Starship

China space officials recently unveiled a new rocket design that is strangely close to SpaceX's design for the recently successful Starship rocket.

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The similarities between the two rockets were pointed out in a recent article by Ars Technica, which states the design for its Long March 9 rocket, an ultra-heavy launch vehicle that is designed to transport the first Chinese astronauts to the surface of the Moon sometime in the 2030s. However, the new design appears to be heavily inspired or directly ripped off from SpaceX's Starship launch vehicle, as the new Long March 9 rocket has the same two-stage, fully reusable configuration as SpaceX's rocket, the same aerodynamic flaps to assist in landing, and more.

Notably, and as Ars Technica points out, this isn't the first time Chinese officials have copied designs from SpaceX, as it was only last week a Chinese space launch company called Cosmoleap published a promotional video that copied SpaceX's Mechazilla tower and its two chopstick arms. Additionally, a separate Chinese space startup called Space Pioneer announced its plans to develop a new rocket with a design suspiciously similar to SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

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These similarities between the two rockets highlights China's distant position from the finish line in the race to create a sustainable, reliable means of space transportation.

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