China plans to create a fully reusable version of the rocket designed to launch infrastructure and missions into deep space. Presentations this week at National Space Day events in Hefei city, Anhui province, China, show that plans for the Long March 9 rocket include the development of a fully reusable version, apparently inspired by Starship.

China is now targeting 2033 for the first flights of its three-stage Long March rocket powered by multiple full-flow first-stage methane engines that can carry a payload of 50 tons to lunar orbit, or 35 tons with the first stage lifted. The rocket is being developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). The first version will have a length of 114 meters, a launch weight of 4,400 tons and a thrust of 6,100 tons.

After that, a two-stage version will appear capable of transferring 150 tons of payload to low Earth orbit (LOO) or 100 tons when landing on the first stage. A fully reusable 80-tonne LEO variant will be the final destination, expected to fly in the 2040s.

The presentations come just days after SpaceX’s first integrated launch of the Starship ended with a flight canceled minutes later. Engineers at CALT published a preliminary analysis of this flight yesterday. China previously aimed to launch the Long March 9 disposable rocket using kerosene-oxygen engines with 500 tons of thrust between 2028 and 2030.

However, the Long March 9 project has evolved over the past few years from the first disposable, more traditional Long March style kerosene-fueled rocket with a 10 meter diameter core and four 5 meter thrusters introduced in the early 2010s. single-handle versions powered by various engines on kerosene or methane.

CALT announced late last year that plans for a one-off version were shelved and the structural design was complete. CALT now appears to rely on methane-oxygen fuel in two- and three-stage variants, with the ultimate goal of a fully reusable Starship-like version in the 2040s. The change of direction means delays in acquiring the rocket’s capabilities, which could delay the country’s planned International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project.

China is also developing Long March 10, which could make its maiden flight around 2027 and send a crew to the lunar surface by the end of the decade with two launches. Shanghai Space Flight Technology Academy (SAST), another rocket division of China’s main space contractor CASC, has also proposed designs for large reusable methane rockets.

The upcoming Long March 9 was launched as useful for launching components for a space solar power plant in stable orbit. Heavy-lift reusable rockets could make the associated launch costs much more manageable, but there are still a number of technical, engineering and financial challenges associated with such an undertaking.