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The return to Earth of three Chinese astronauts has been delayed until an unspecified date after their spacecraft was apparently struck by a small piece of debris, according to Chinese state media.
The three astronauts from the Shenzhou-20 mission flew to the Tiangong space station in April, and were expected to return on Wednesday at the end of a six month mission. Their replacements, the crew of Shenzhou-21, had already arrived on the weekend.
“The Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft is suspected to have been struck by a small piece of orbital debris, and assessment of the impact and associated risks is currently under way,” said the China Manned Space Agency in a statement.
“To ensure the health and safety of the astronauts and the successful completion of the mission, it has been decided that the originally planned return of Shenzhou-20 on November 5 will be postponed.”
Authorities didn’t say when the incident is believed to have occurred. There was no indication of any issues earlier this week, with state media reporting on the two crews enjoying a meal of baked chicken cooked on the space station’s first ever oven, delivered by the Shenzhou-21 team. On Tuesday the two teams were reported to have conducted a handover ceremony, with videos posted to social media.
A popular aerospace and science communicator, Yu Jun, who posts under the name Steed’s Scarf, said if the assessments determine it’s too high risk for the spacecraft to return, authorities would activate a “plan B”, potentially the deployment of a waiting backup ship on Earth.
“Shenzhou-22 and the Long March 2F (launcher) were already on standby. This is our rolling backup mechanism. They are in ‘emergency duty’ mode and ready to bring our astronauts home safely if needed,” Yu told his more than five million followers on Weibo.
China has steadily advanced its manned space program, conducting 37 flights and six manned flights, and aims to land a man on the moon by 2030.
The returning Shenzhou-20 team’s commander, Chen Dong, already holds a Chinese record for the longest cumulative spaceflight, with more than 380 days in orbit, as well as the highest number of spacewalks – six – by any Chinese astronaut.
No Chinese astronauts have been to the International Space Station, a collaboration between the US, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan, because of a US law that bars Nasa from cooperating with Chinese astronauts. China has instead said it expects to welcome international cooperation on Tiangong.
Additional reporting by Jason Tzu Kuan Lu, Lillian Yang, and agencies
English (US)