When we think of the one company that has dominated the space industry game in recent
years, we can't help but think of SpaceX.
From its fancy rockets to the company's never before seen ideas, Elon Musk has quickly become
one of the leading members in the race to conquer space.
With the immense success, it's inevitable that other countries look towards SpaceX to
find out the secret formula that makes the company so popular, and China has arguably
been trying to do just that.
So strap in while we answer today's burning question ‘why China wants to copy SpaceX.’
Welcome to Elon Musk Zone.
The United States has long been the crowned king of space travel.
For a while, it seemed like no other country would come even close to what the US has accomplished
but, there's one country that's starting to catch up quickly, and that's China.
Launching almost 44 spacecraft in 2020, the United States has cemented themselves as the
kings of space.
China followed the United States with 34 successful orbital missions in 2020.
That's more launches than the East Asian world power had ever previously done.
While those are impressive numbers, it is expected that in 2021, China will be the one
leading the world in the total number of rocket launches.
In a quest to become the USA’s competitor, China has started copying SpaceX, the leading
member in the race for space industry dominance.
Chinese rip-offs from Western designs aren’t exactly new.
Given China's reputation for copying classic Western products, it may not entirely be surprising
that China has gone this way in space as well.
If you have a popular product in mind, name it, and there's most likely a Chinese knock-off
of the same.
So when a company like SpaceX is experiencing immense success in the entire launch industry,
it’s almost natural that China can’t help but copy them.
The China Academy Of Launch Vehicle Technology or CALT is the country’s state-owned rocket
maker.
In April this year, the company unveiled plans that got many people thinking, “where have
we seen that before?”
CALT announced that they would construct a suborbital point-to-point transportation system
capable of transporting crew and cargo to any location on the planet within an hour.
If you think you are experiencing deja vu while hearing this, you’re not wrong.
The Chinese plans I just talked about are very similar to what SpaceX intends to do
with their Starship.
Although Starship has primarily been promoted as a vehicle to take humans to the Moon and
Mars, SpaceX has also developed a point-to-point concept by unveiling this "Earth to Earth"
concept in September 2017.
Back in 2017, SpaceX showed off its vision for the future: a spacecraft that will fly
sub-orbitally from anywhere on Earth in under an hour.
The company claimed a journey time of 39 minutes from New York to Shanghai, exceeding speeds
that even the peak era of hypersonic aircraft travel could never achieve.
Four years later, and that vision of what is now known as the Starship system has made
significant progress.
SpaceX now focuses on sending the first astronauts to the surface of Mars using the same rocket
within the next decade or so.
Now, China wants in on the same concept.
According to promotional videos, the nation has a surprisingly similar vision.
CALT's presentation film during China's national space day to reveal its new spacecraft had
a striking resemblance to the point-to-point video of SpaceX from a few years ago, and
it certainly drew a lot of people's attention.
The film showed a vertical liftoff rocket that appeared identical to Musk's SpaceX Starship.
The return of the spacecraft following stage separation, as well as the re-entry and landing,
were all similar to Starship's design.
The latest rocket designs CALT has unveiled have also raised a few eyebrows.
The designs are so similar to SpaceX’s Starship it almost seems like the nation is building
a clone.
The launch vehicle China plans to develop is a like-for-like copy of the Starship renders
SpaceX unveiled four years ago.
The rocket’s exterior is shiny, similar to the stainless steel body of Starship.
Down to the triangular aerodynamic fins, China's concept seems to be a copy of the reflective
stainless-steel coated Starship and its companion Super Heavy rocket.
This isn’t the first time the country's government has been under fire for copying
SpaceX designs.
China has been following Musk's company from the very beginning, with a particular interest
in SpaceX's goal to reuse rocket first stages.
It was reported that during the company's very first launch in 2006, a Chinese spy boat
was in the small patch of ocean where the Falcon 1 rocket's first stage was due to reenter.
Another time SpaceX has influenced the Chinese space program was even more recent.
The Chinese Long March 2C rocket used "grid fins" similar to those used by the first stage
of the Falcon 9 rocket to navigate through the atmosphere during reentry in 2019.
And in 2020, the country launched a reusable space capsule that also drew comparisons to
SpaceX's Crew Dragon design.
What's more, is that the new launch mechanism CALT revealed is consistent with China’s
long-term goals of becoming a space superpower by the mid twenty first century.
According to reports, CALT plans to use its Starship knock-off to deliver cargo around
the globe using suborbital flights by the year 2035 and take passengers aboard by 2045.
In the future, China appears to intend to rip off SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, which is currently
scheduled to be available in a heavy payload lifter form known as the Long March 9.
China is nearly at the same point as SpaceX was in 2016.
SpaceX first achieved a successful landing and recovery of the first stage of a multistage
rocket in December 2015.
The first re-flight of a landed first stage took place in March 2017.
Other Chinese spacecraft have successfully launched, and China and Chinese startups are
working towards recovering the booster stage.
By the end of the year, China plans to conduct a first-stage recovery test for the Long March
8.
Similar to the Falcon 9 booster, China plans to develop the Long March 8 rocket to land
on a sea platform.
Chinese semi-private companies like LinkSpace and Galactic Energy also appear to be copying
SpaceX's launch technology.
For the time being, the country plans to create the Long March 9 rocket, a more traditional
super heavy lifter, along with a triple-core booster similar to SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket.
You have to admit, the country's state-owned rocket company is taking some serious cues
from SpaceX.
China has used its space program as a way to flex its political and industrial muscle.
The country spends 345 billion dollars on their initiatives in an effort to cement themselves
as the top dog in space.
By now, it's clear that China wants to make sure that it has all the latest rocket technology
to make this space dream a reality.
However, it's still not clear whether China will also develop a Starship-like vehicle
for interplanetary transport.
But since following Musk's footsteps has proven to be successful for China, it’s likely
that the country will entirely adopt SpaceX’s design and flight profile in the future.
Elon Musk is definitely leading the pack when it comes to manned space flight, and as the
saying goes, imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery.
China has admired and closely followed the footsteps of SpaceX and has almost caught
up.
Meanwhile, companies that promised to match SpaceX including Virgin Galactic, and Jeff
Bezos’ Blue Origin, are still struggling to catch up with Elon Musk.
Only China, with an ambitious schedule of satellite launches, and space exploration,
is likely to match Musk.
In 2021, the question isn’t whether SpaceX will lead the industry but whether any other
company will be able to compete with it.
What do you think?
Do you think China will be able to outperform SpaceX one day?
Let us know down in the comment section below!
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