China has sent a return capsule into space to bring three astronauts back to Earth. The unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou 22 lifted off from the Jiuquan Cosmodrome in northwest China’s Gobi Desert at around noon (local time), the manned space agency said. The vehicle carrying food and spare parts is scheduled to dock at the Tiangong space station, where the three-person crew of the Shenzhou-21 mission is expected to be located. It has not been able to return to Earth due to the spaceship exchange.
The three astronauts just started their planned six-month stay in space at the beginning of the month. Upon arrival, they must hand over their spaceship to the previous mission Shenzhou 20, which is stranded in space. This is the first such incident in the history of Tiangong.
The Shenzhou-20 crew was actually supposed to fly back to Earth on November 5 on their spacecraft of the same name. Cracks in the windows, which Chinese space experts assumed were caused by collisions with small pieces of space debris, initially delayed the object’s return indefinitely.
Mission management ultimately decided that the Shenzhou 20 crew should transfer to Shenzhou 21 and back. The start of Shenzhou 22, originally planned for April, was moved forward.
Shenzhou 22 carries spare parts
It is still unclear what will happen to Shenzhou 20, which is still docked with the space station. Shenzhou 22 carried spare parts to repair the window to space. The space agency said the capsule will remain in orbit for further testing.
Space debris refers to obsolete objects such as satellites or fragments resulting from collisions or explosions. Space debris has become an increasingly pressing problem over the decades of international space travel.
