89 FOMO
China just did its Apollo 1-era capsule abort test and landed the rocket — in the same flight
Original: China aces test of next-gen lunar capsule and rocket — Mengzhou in-flight abort, LM-10 first stage splashdown
AI Executive Summary
Space.com analysis: the LM-10 first stage's powered vertical splashdown at sea is directly analogous to Falcon 9 first stage ocean recovery. China combining a safety system test with first-stage recovery in a single flight represents a compressed development timeline. Mengzhou has now completed both zero-altitude and maximum dynamic pressure abort tests. Uncrewed demonstration mission to Tiangong Space Station expected later in 2026.