People have commented that a planet a bit larger than earth (I think 8-9 times qualifies) would have gravity too strong for rockets to ever be practical, and thus whether you were a marooned earthling or evolved there, you would never ever be able to get into orbit.

So, there could be "super-earths" with life similar to ours, even intelligent, and they would never be able to participate in a space-faring society.