New Space Race? China's Latest Test Left NASA in the Dust

China just completed one of the most ambitious space tests in recent memory, accomplishing two major milestones in a single flight. On Wednesday morning local time (Tuesday night EST), the country successfully tested both its new Mengzhou crew capsule and demonstrated its Long March 10 rocket's ability to land itself after launch.

The test took place at the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island, China's southernmost launch facility. What makes this test remarkable isn't just what happened, but how much China managed to verify in one go.

What Actually Happened

The Long March 10 rocket lifted off at 11 AM Beijing time, carrying an uncrewed test version of the Mengzhou spacecraft. About 45 seconds into the flight, at an altitude of roughly 11 kilometers, the spacecraft's abort system fired. This simulated what would happen if astronauts needed to escape from a failing rocket during the most dangerous part of launch, when aerodynamic forces are at their peak.

The Mengzhou capsule successfully pulled away from the booster, deployed parachutes, and splashed down in the South China Sea. Maritime recovery teams retrieved it within hours.