HELSINKI -- China's main space contractor has unveiled a fully reusable rocket concept, reminiscent of SpaceX's Starship, designed to support its grandest ambitions for space.
The new concept for the oft-revamped design of China's Long March 9 rocket is on display at the Zhuhai Airshow in Guangdong province, which opened Nov. 12.
An animated video of the new Long March 9 concept shows the large first stage deploying grid fins and making a reentry burn. It then performs a landing burn, targeting an offshore platform, with moveable rails closing to capture the stage, with the grid fins just above or resting on the rails.
SpaceX demonstrated the first capture of its Super Heavy booster in October, with arms on the rocket's launch pad contracting to catch the stage just below the grid fins.
Another section of the video shows a Starship-like upper stage performing a familiar "belly flop" reentry and landing vertically after a powered descent.
"The heavy-lift rocket has a capacity of 100 tons to low Earth orbit and 50 tons to lunar transfer orbit, which can cover the launch needs of various space missions from low orbit to deep space exploration," Chen Ziyu, a designer at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), told state media China Central Television (CCTV).
Chen explained that the Long March 9 will be developed in two stages: first as a heavy-lift model to increase access to space, and later as a two-stage, fully reusable configuration to reduce costs and enhance launch frequency.
"Our ultimate goal is to have a two-stage fully reusable configuration. And different configurations can be adapted to the launch needs of missions to different orbits," Chen said.
China has been working on a super heavy-lift rocket for a number of years, but the design has changed a number of times. Designs and models for CALT's Long March 9 have evolved, from an expendable kerosene-fueled 10-meter-diameter rocket with four 5.0-meter-diameter side boosters, to various kerosene and methane-fueled designs for reusability, according to presentations to CALT officials.
A super heavy-lift rocket is crucial to China's plans to build its planned International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) in the 2030s. It would also be needed for potential projects such as a space-based solar power station in geostationary orbit. A reusable rocket would significantly cut costs and increase viability.
China is also planning to build at least two constellations of low Earth orbit megaconstellations of around 13,000 satellites each. A fully reusable Long March 9 with its high payload capacity would also be advantageous for the deployment of these satellites, much as SpaceX plans to use its Starship to put its Starlink satellites into orbit.