BEIJING: Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Friday after their original landing was postponed due to space debris striking their spacecraft last week. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) revealed that “tiny cracks” had been discovered in a window of the Shenzhou-20 return capsule, which did not meet safety standards for crewed re-entry.
Read More: Chinese astronauts escape space debris scare, land safely
The astronauts were initially scheduled to return on November 5, following a six-month mission aboard China’s Tiangong space station. After the damage was detected, they transferred to the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft to safely complete their journey, landing at the Dongfeng site in Inner Mongolia.
The Shenzhou-20 mission, which began in April, had proceeded smoothly until the unexpected debris incident. CMSA confirmed that while the delay was only nine days, such postponements are highly unusual for the Shenzhou programme, which has achieved a series of milestones over the past year, including world-record spacewalks and the deployment of astronauts born in the 1990s.
Read More: China’s youngest astronaut joins Tiangong space station crew
The incident highlights ongoing challenges posed by space debris, even as China prepares to host its first foreign astronaut, from Pakistan, at Tiangong next year. CMSA emphasized that safety remains the top priority for all crewed missions.