With the Long March 9 Rocket, China Could Have a 185-Meter Tall Vehicle and Huge Fairings

As we have previously noted, China is looking to catch up with the USA in the new space race. Scientific missions, secret military launches, spaceplanes, lunar missions with and without crew, missions to Mars, a space station, and much more. The Chinese aerospace sector is in significant upheaval and is also focusing on reusable rockets, from both state-owned and private companies. In the near future, the new Long March 9 rocket could debut, which could be decidedly colossal, even more so than SpaceX's Starship.

Talk of the Long March 9 rocket (CZ-9, LM-9) has been ongoing for some time, and its development has been underway for several years. It will be a reusable heavy launch vehicle dedicated to both low Earth orbit missions and lunar missions, although it will not be used in the initial manned missions, where Long March 10 rockets will be employed. The final design has not yet been officially confirmed, and there is no "green light" from the central government yet.

In the meantime, the provincial government of Hainan and the CALT (China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology) have reportedly begun acquiring land in the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center area to build new production and assembly facilities for the vehicle, and from these preliminary plans, some decidedly interesting, and perhaps overly optimistic, features have emerged.

Long March 9: The New Big Chinese Space Rocket

During the Zhuhai Airshow 2024, a scale model of the new Long March 9 was showcased, featuring a design very similar to Starship, with a fully reusable first and second stage. However, the vehicle will have several versions based on its use, with 2024 specifications indicating a maximum height of 114 meters, a take-off weight of 4,400 tons, and a thrust at liftoff of 6,100 tons. The diameter was 10.6 meters, achieving a payload capacity in LEO of 150 tons and up to 50 tons on the lunar surface.

According to leaked assembly facility plans in these days, the Chinese heavy rocket will maintain the 10.6-meter diameter. The provincial government has opened a call for bids to find welding systems capable of working on such large surfaces, although what is surprising are the overall dimensions of the vehicle, particularly the fairings. The fairings could have a diameter of as much as 15 meters while being 37 meters tall.

Overall, the three-stage version of the Long March 9 could reach a total height of 185 meters, surpassing the third version of Starship (which stops at about 124 meters). The engine section could be 11.6 meters wide. The facility, covering an area of 100,000 m², could be completed in about 2.1 years, and only then will we understand how serious China is about creating a vehicle of these dimensions and capabilities.

Unofficial Example of What the CZ-9 Vehicle Could Look Like

There are still many unknowns in the development of a vehicle of this type. First of all, there is no approval from the central government (as mentioned above). Secondly, there could be some errors in the files that have been shared publicly, with the final solution potentially being large, but not that large. Additionally, until the specifications are publicly and definitively released, there may still be changes. Almost certainly, we will see a Long March 9 rocket flying around the early 2030s, but what its characteristics will be is still a topic of discussion.