This Week In Spaceflight

Currently Playing: China’s Moon Capsule Passes Critical Test as Europe’s Orbital Hopes Falter

Europe’s commercial launch ambitions take a major hit as Orbex enters administration, raising serious questions about the future of the European Launcher Challenge and the UK’s independent access to space. Meanwhile, China successfully completes a critical in-flight abort test of its next-generation Mengzhou crew capsule, a key milestone on the path to landing astronauts on the Moon before the end of the decade. In this episode of This Week in Spaceflight, we cover: 🚀 Orbex running out of money — what it means for Europe’s rocket industry 🌕 China’s Mengzhou Moon capsule abort test and reusable booster splashdown 🇪🇺 The state of Europe’s launch competition: RFA, Isar, Maia, PLD Space 🛰️ Amazon gets approval to expand its LEO constellation past 7,000 satellites 👩‍🚀 Vast secures a private ISS astronaut mission 🌍 A full Space Traffic Report with launches from SpaceX, China, Europe, Russia, and the U.S. As always, NSF breaks down what matters in global spaceflight, from Moon missions to launch failures and everything in between. Space Traffic Report powered by NextSpaceflight Track launches: https://nextspaceflight.com 🛰 NSF Live Streams: https://www.youtube.com/@NASASpaceflight/ 📰 Spaceflight news 24/7: https://nasaspaceflight.com ISS Imagery Partner: https://youtube.com/@Sen/live ⚡ Become a member of NASASpaceflight's channel for exclusive discord access, fast turnaround clips, and other exclusive benefits. Your support helps us continue our 24/7 coverage. Click JOIN above to get started.⚡ 🤵 Hosted by Elysia Segal. 🖋️ Written by Martijn Luinstra & Martin Smith. 🎥 Footage from: Max Evans, Martijn Luinstra, D Wise, Orbex, CCTV, Amazon, Vast, Xinhua, SpaceX, NASA, SaxaVord Spaceport, Skyrora, Rocket Factory Augsburg, Katalyst Space Technologies, Relativity Space, Arianespace, ESA/Science Office, ESA, CASC, Boeing, Firefly Aerospace. ✂️ Edited by Ryan Caton. 💼 Produced by Kevin Michael Reed (@kmreed). 🔍 If you are interested in using footage from this video, please review our content use policy: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content-use-policy/ #Spaceflight #Orbex #ChinaMoon #Mengzhou #EuropeanSpace #RocketNews #MoonMission #CommercialSpace #NSF #ThisWeekInSpaceflight LDAPAABJRG2UMCU3