China’s three-man Shenzhou-20 space station crew landed safely this morning (EST) in the Shenzhou-21 capsule. Their Shenzhou-21 colleagues remain aboard Tiangong-3 with the Shenzhou-20 capsule that apparently was damaged by space debris. China says a new Shenzhou-22 capsule will be launched for them “at the appropriate time in the future.”
Blue Origin not only had a successful launch today and sent two NASA cubesats on their way to Mars, but landed their New Glenn-2 first stage on a barge at sea on just their second try. It was a winning trifecta for Jeff Bezos’s company that is beginning to compete in the orbital launch market after years of suborbital launches from the West Texas desert.
The House approved Senate-passed legislation and President Trump signed it into law this evening, ending the 43-day government shutdown. The bill includes full-year funding for agencies covered by three of the 12 appropriations bills. Agencies in the other nine, including Defense, NASA, and NOAA, are funded through January 30, 2026. The goal is to pass those bills before then.
In an obscurely worded statement, China’s Xinhua news agency conveyed that the Shenzhou-20 crew is doing well on its extended stay aboard the Tiangong-3 space station. Their planned return to Earth a week ago was delayed because their spacecraft apparently was struck by space debris. Xinhua did not say then or now when they will return or whether a replacement spacecraft must be launched.
Tonight the Senate cleared the bill to end the government shutdown, which has lasted 41 days so far. Eight Democrats and Independents again joined 52 Republicans for final passage of the Continuing Resolution. Because the Senate made changes to the House-passed version, the House must vote on it again, which could happen as soon as Wednesday. If it clears the House and is signed into law, most government agencies will be funded at their current levels through January 30, 2026.
The top Democrat on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee is raising the alarm about actions being taken at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center during the government shutdown to close laboratories and other facilities critical to NASA missions. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) wrote a letter to the acting head of NASA today demanding that the closures and relocations cease immediately, noting Goddard staff were informed only last week that some facilities must be emptied by this Wednesday, November 12.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune finally got the eight Democrats/Independents he needed to vote in favor of a Continuing Resolution that will allow the government to reopen. Tonight’s vote was just one step — though a critically important one — in a process that could take several days to play out. Among other things, the CR is different from the one that passed the House on September 19 so the House will have to vote on it again.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of November 9-15, 2025 and any insight we can offer about them. The House remains in recess indefinitely except for pro forma sessions. The Senate is in session this weekend and Majority Leader Thune says it will remain in session until a solution to the shutdown is found.
If all goes according to plan, Blue Origin will launch their New Glenn rocket for the second time tomorrow, Sunday, at 2:45 pm ET and land the first stage on a barge out at sea. New Glenn-2 is carrying two cubesats called ESCAPADE whose ultimate destination is Mars, though they will linger closer to Earth for the 12 months until the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens.
The FAA’s decision to restrict the number of airline flights to ensure the safety of air travel as some air traffic controllers call in sick during the government shutdown could impact space launches, too. Airspace around launch sites must be cleared during launches and reentries so the FAA will limit them to nighttime hours beginning Monday if the shutdown continues.