Updated Jan. 23, 2026, 12:05 p.m. ET
- SpaceX’s Starship, the world’s largest rocket, has inspired several Chinese companies to develop similar spacecraft designs.
- NASA plans to use Starship for its Artemis program to land astronauts on the moon, while Elon Musk aims to use it for Mars travel.
- Despite its ambitious goals, SpaceX’s Starship has yet to reach orbit in its test flights, with the next attempt targeted for early 2026.
SpaceX’s ambitious concept for its Starship spacecraft intended to one day travel all the way to Mars has apparently inspired no shortage of copy cats.
The mammoth rocket, regarded as the largest in the world, is accompanied by equally mammoth expectations for the United States’ spaceflight program in the years ahead.
For one, NASA still has plans to use the vehicle’s upper stage to land astronauts on the moon. And for another, billionaire Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, has dreams of using Starship to send the first humans – Americans – to Mars.
Chinese companies have for years been influenced by the design of SpaceX’s Falcon 9, its workhorse rocket responsible for Starlink satellite deployments and for helping launch NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. But as SpaceX aims to transition in the years ahead to relying more on its much bigger Starship, startups in China appear to be following suit, as reported by numerous spaceflight outlets, including Ars Technica and SpaceNews.
Here’s everything to know about SpaceX’s Starship, as well as the imitations in China the rocket seems to have inspired.
What is SpaceX’s Starship? How tall is it?
Standing at more than 400 feet tall when fully stacked, Starship is regarded as the largest and most powerful launch vehicle in the world.
SpaceX’s previous Starship model, known as Version 2, was composed of both a lower-stage 232-foot Super Heavy booster that provided the initial burst of thrust at liftoff, as well as the 171-foot upper stage Starship, the spacecraft where crew and cargo would ride.
SpaceX is developing Starship to be a fully reusable transportation system, meaning the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions.
In the years ahead, Starship is due to help NASA astronauts land on the moon under the U.S. space agency’s Artemis program. Musk also has dreams of Starship being the vehicle that transports the first humans to Mars.
Another Chinese startup intros rocket resembling Starship
Multiple outlets that cover the spaceflight industry have for years tracked how China’s government and startup companies in the nation have attempted to mimic SpaceX’s designs for their own rockets.
And lately, the focus seems to have shifted from the 230-foot Falcon 9 – which has been reliably flying in the U.S. for more than a decade – to Starship.
Most recently, state-operated news outlet China.com reported in December 2025 that a company called “Beijing Leading Rocket Technology” had named its latest spacecraft concept Xingzhou-1, which literally translates to “Starship-1.” A rendering of the rocket, billed as being designed to be fully reusable like Starship, even appears to closely resemble SpaceX’s design.
“Very early stage, only conceptual claims, very ambitiously aiming for 2027 debut fight,” Andrew Jones, a journalist who tracks China’s space program, said in December in a post on social media site X. “Wild.”
Multiple companies in China design what seem like clones of Starship
Here’s a look at other Chinese companies that have designs that are very, very similar to Starship:
- The trend appears to have begun with China’s own space program, which in November 2024 unveiled a new design of its heavy-lift rocket resembling Starship, the Long March 9. One of the versions will be fully reusable, just like Starship, Space.com reported at the time.
- Cosmoleap, a startup, announced plans in November 2024 to develop a fully reusable rocket within a few years that aims to implement SpaceX’s concept to catch a returning booster back at the launch tower, SpaceNews reported.
- Astronstone, another startup, made no secret that it was intentionally mimicking SpaceX with the concept for it srocket. Astronstone went so far as to say it was even designing a tower with “chopstick” arms to catch a returning rocket, “fully aligning its technical approach with Elon Musk’s SpaceX,” the company said, as reported by Orbital Today in June 2025.
Such startups, though, are likely well behind SpaceX in developing a reliable rocket of that size. The government’s Long March 9, for instance, isn’t expected to make its maiden flight until 2033.
What’s next for SpaceX, Starship in 2026?
Even Musk’s SpaceX has struggled to develop Starship, which has yet to reach orbit or safely land in any of its previous 11 flight tests – though the company has managed to recover the booster on three separate attempts.
SpaceX’s next prototype of Starship, known as Version 3, is expected to make its debut in 2026.
If all goes to plan, Version 3 (V3) could be the Starship model to reach orbit and also refuel its upper stage midflight. Having the capability to refuel in orbit is necessary for Starship to reach distant destinations like Mars.
Will SpaceX maintain Artemis 3 contract with NASA?
But SpaceX also has a challenge on its hands in the year ahead in maintaining a lucrative contract with NASA to be part of the U.S. space agency’s first human lunar landing in more than half a century.
In October, NASA’s then-Acting Administrator Sean Duffy indicated the agency would consider lunar lander plans from SpaceX’s rivals. Amid a heated space race to return humans to the moon, NASA officials have expressed concern that SpaceX has fallen behind schedule in preparing Starship to be ready in time for an astronaut mission known as Artemis 3.
Duffy, though, has since been replaced by Jared Isaacman, a close associate of Musk’s who in December was sworn in as NASA’s full-time administrator.
When is Starship flight 12? What to know about next SpaceX launch date
SpaceX has not announced a launch date for its next Starship test but has said the mission is targeted for the first quarter of 2026 from Starbase, its company town and headquarters in South Texas.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
