"BEIJING China launched the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft on Tuesday to help bring back a team of astronauts after a damaged spacecraft left them temporarily stranded on China's space station. The Shenzhou 22, which successfully docked at the Tiangong space station Tuesday, will be used sometime in 2026 by the three astronauts who arrived on Nov. 1. Earlier this month, another group of Chinese astronauts from the Shenzhou 20 mission faced a nine-day delay in their return to Earth after their craft's window was damaged."
"They eventually returned using the Shenzhou 21 spacecraft, which had just carried the replacement crew to Tiangong. While the three-person crew landed safely on Earth, three of their fellow astronauts on the replacement crew were temporarily left without a guaranteed way to return in case of an emergency. The Shenzhou 20 spacecraft the damaged one, which for now remains in space will be brought down to Earth later and assessed, according to state broadcaster CCTV."
China launched the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft and successfully docked it at the Tiangong space station to serve as a future return vehicle for stationed astronauts. The Shenzhou 22 is planned for use in 2026 by the crew that arrived on Nov. 1. A damaged window on the Shenzhou 20 caused a nine-day delay for another crew and temporarily left a replacement crew without a guaranteed emergency return option. The damaged Shenzhou 20 will be brought back to Earth for assessment after being deemed not to meet safety standards. Tiangong hosted its first crew in 2021 and was developed after exclusion from the International Space Station.
Read at www.npr.org
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