At least one Chinese company is already working to create its own version of SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9, which has launched more than 100 orbital missions this year. And it was revealed this week that China's next-gen heavy lifter, the Long March 9, will look a lot like SpaceX's Starship megarocket, at least in one of its planned configurations.

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.

It’s often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s true, SpaceX might want to check its mailbox for a thank-you note from China. After nearly a decade of development, China’s Long March 9 rocket has undergone yet another redesign,

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

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

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,