The return of three Chinese astronauts to Earth has been postponed indefinitely after their spacecraft was reportedly hit by a small piece of debris, according to Chinese state media.
The astronauts, who are part of the Shenzhou-20 mission, traveled to the Tiangong space station in April and were scheduled to return on Wednesday after a six-month stay. Their replacements, the crew of Shenzhou-21, had already arrived over the weekend.
“The Shenzhou-20 manned spacecraft is suspected to have been struck by a small piece of orbital debris, and an assessment of the impact and associated risks is currently underway,” the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said in a statement.
“To ensure the health and safety of the astronauts and the successful completion of the mission, it has been decided to postpone the originally planned return of Shenzhou-20 on November 5.”
Authorities did not specify when the debris incident occurred. Earlier in the week, state media reported that both crews had shared a meal of baked chicken prepared with the station’s first oven, delivered by the Shenzhou-21 team. On Tuesday, videos showed the two teams performing a handover ceremony.
Yu Jun, a science communicator known online as Steed’s Scarf, said that if it is deemed unsafe to return to the spacecraft, authorities could activate a backup plan.
“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 necessary,” Yu told his more than five million followers on Weibo.
China has continued to expand its human spaceflight program, completing 37 flights and six manned missions so far, with plans to land astronauts on the moon by 2030.
Shenzhou-20 commander Chen Dong holds China’s record for the longest cumulative space time, more than 380 days, and the most spacewalks, with six.
Chinese astronauts have not joined the International Space Station, a partnership between the United States, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan, because of a US law that prevents NASA from cooperating with China’s space program. Instead, China has said it welcomes international cooperation on its Tiangong space station.
(The Guardian UK)
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