Three Chinese astronauts whose journey home was delayed after space debris struck their spacecraft landed safely in China on Friday afternoon, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said “tiny cracks” were found in a small window of the Shenzhou-20 return capsule last week, prompting officials to postpone the crew’s scheduled November 5 return.
The astronauts had completed a six-month mission aboard China’s permanently inhabited Tiangong space station. After the damage was detected, the crew departed the station aboard a different spacecraft, Shenzhou-21, and touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia at 4:40 p.m. local time.
The mission, which began in April, had proceeded normally until the debris incident forced the change of return plans, CMSA said.
The episode underscores growing concerns about space debris, which has affected missions involving the International Space Station as well as spacecraft operated by the United States, Russia and private companies.
Disintegrating satellites, collisions and anti-satellite weapon tests continue to add debris to orbit, increasing risks for crewed and uncrewed missions. Agencies in the U.S. and China have stepped up ad-hoc coordination on space safety, including manoeuvre alerts, according to recent reports.
Last year, two NASA astronauts remained aboard the ISS for nine months after propulsion issues affected their Boeing Starliner return vehicle.
(With inputs from Reuters)
