Long March 9 China's super heavy entry

If you think the space race is a history lesson, look up. Right now, China is building a rocket so massive it makes NASA’s Saturn V look like a bottle rocket. The Long March 9 is China’s answer to SpaceX’s Starship, and it’s more than just blueprints and renderings. This super heavy launch vehicle is already in testing. For American men in their twenties who grew up on shuttle launches and Mars rover landings, the Long March 9 represents a shift. The United States is no longer the only player building rockets that could carry humans to the Moon and beyond. This is not hype. This is hardware.

Let’s cut through the noise. The Long March 9 is designed to be a three-stage rocket with a liftoff thrust of around 6,000 tons. That’s roughly five times the thrust of the Saturn V. For context, the Saturn V could send astronauts to the Moon. The Long March 9 is meant to do the same, but with heavier payloads and potentially longer missions. China’s space agency, the China National Space Administration, has publicly stated that the rocket will be capable of sending up to 150 tons to low Earth orbit and 50 tons to translunar injection. That puts it in the same weight class as SpaceX’s Starship, though Starship aims for around 100 tons to the Moon in its fully reusable configuration. The difference is that Starship is still exploding in Texas. The Long March 9 is being built with Chinese government money and a decade of experience from earlier Long March rockets.

The most recent milestone came in early 2024, when China successfully tested a 500-ton thrust engine designed for the Long March 9’s first stage. That engine, called the YF-130, is a four-chamber kerosene-liquid oxygen engine. It was tested at full power for the first time, and Chinese state media confirmed it worked as intended. This is not a paper rocket. This is steel, plumbing, and combustion chambers that have already burned under controlled conditions. The second stage is expected to use a different engine, the YF-90, which burns liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for higher efficiency in vacuum. Both engine types are derivative of technology China has been refining for years on its Long March 5 and Long March 7 rockets.

What does this mean for an American audience? First, it means China is serious about lunar exploration. The Long March 9 is the cornerstone of China’s International Lunar Research Station, a project that aims to put a permanent human presence on the Moon by the 2030s. That timeline overlaps with NASA’s Artemis program, which plans to use the Space Launch System and Starship to return Americans to the lunar surface. The difference is that Artemis has suffered delays, budget overruns, and political headwinds. China, by contrast, operates on a centralized budget and a clear national mandate. When the Chinese government says it wants astronauts on the Moon by 2030, it means it.

Second, this rocket challenges the assumption that American companies and NASA own the super heavy category. SpaceX has dominated conversations about big rockets for nearly a decade, and for good reason. Starship, if it works, will be the most capable launch system ever built. But right now, Starship is still in a test-and-fail cycle. The Long March 9 is being built by a state-run aerospace contractor that has already flown dozens of successful missions. China does not need to make a profit. It does not need to win commercial contracts. It just needs to fly. That gives it a different kind of momentum.

There are, of course, caveats. The Long March 9 is not reusable. At least not yet. China is exploring reusability for a future variant, but the current design is expendable. That means each launch will cost tens of millions of dollars more than a reusable rocket. China also has a spotty record with crewed missions. Its Shenzhou spacecraft is reliable, but the Long March 9 will be the largest human-rated vehicle China has ever attempted. If anything goes wrong, it will be a catastrophic loss.

Still, the long-term trajectory is clear. Chinese engineers are testing engines, building tooling, and assembling test articles right now. The first flight is targeted for the late 2020s, possibly 2028. That puts China on a collision course with the next era of space exploration, not as a follower but as a competitor. For casual space fans who check updates on forums and YouTube, the Long March 9 is a reminder that the future is already being built. It’s not just in Texas or Florida. It’s in China.

So keep watching. The Long March 9 is not a concept. It’s a rocket that is being welded together as you read this. And when it finally lifts off, the sound will be heard around the world.