Stranded Chinese Astronauts Begin Return Journey After Space Debris Damages Shenzhou-20 Capsule
Debris-damaged capsule forces emergency swap for safe return.
Three Chinese astronauts, marooned for over a week aboard the Tiangong space station after space junk cracked their original return capsule, finally began their journey home Friday aboard the Shenzhou-21 craft that delivered their replacements. The trio, Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie, were originally set to land November 5 but were stranded when minor fractures were discovered in the Shenzhou-20’s return module, likely caused by high-speed orbital debris.
China’s Manned Space Engineering Office confirmed the damaged Shenzhou-20 will remain in orbit while the astronauts parachute to a remote landing site in Inner Mongolia later today. The incident highlights the growing peril of millions of debris fragments zipping around Earth faster than bullets, threatening satellites, stations, and human lives during spacewalks.
The crew, who arrived at Tiangong in April for a standard six-month mission, reported being in excellent health and maintaining normal operations despite the delay. Their replacement team arrived safely aboard Shenzhou-21, enabling the emergency swap that allowed the veterans to return using the new craft’s pristine return capsule.
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While the office announced that the next mission, Shenzhou-22, is still planned, no launch date has been set, leaving uncertainty about whether the debris strike will disrupt China’s tightly scheduled space station rotations. The incoming crew even brought four mice for microgravity experiments, now continuing the research uninterrupted.
China’s space ambitions remain undeterred. From launching its first astronaut in 2003 to operating Tiangong today, the nation is charging toward a crewed lunar landing by 2030. But Friday’s close call serves as a stark reminder that even the most advanced programs must navigate an increasingly cluttered and dangerous orbital highway.
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