Wrapping up 204 days in orbit, three Chinese language astronauts flew again to Earth aboard a Shenzhou spacecraft Friday, leaving three crewmates behind on the Tiangong area station with a busted lifeboat.
Commander Chen Dong, concluding his third journey to area, and rookie crewmates Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie touched down inside their spacecraft on the Dongfeng touchdown zone at 1:29 am EST (06:29 UTC) Friday. The parachute-assisted touchdown occurred within the mid-afternoon on the return zone, positioned within the distant Gobi Desert of northwestern China.
Chinese language area officers upended operations on the nation’s Tiangong area lab final week after astronauts discovered injury to considered one of two Shenzhou return capsules docked on the station. The China Manned House Company, run by the nation’s navy, announced changes to the space station’s flight plan November 4, the day earlier than three crew members have been speculated to depart and fly dwelling.
Chen and his crewmates have been making ready to board the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft for the journey again to Earth a number of days after the arrival of three substitute crew members on the newly launched Shenzhou 21 capsule. Shenzhou 20 is identical spacecraft that launched Chen’s crew in April.
However a bit of greater than every week in the past, Chinese language officers mentioned the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft was “suspected of being impacted by small area particles” and confirmed the return journey could be postponed. Officers supplied no further particulars.
China’s human spaceflight company launched a cryptic assertion earlier this week saying preparations have been underway for the crew’s undocking and touchdown, however the circumstances of the return remained opaque till hours earlier than the astronauts’ homecoming. Lastly, officers confirmed the small print of the return to Earth late Thursday.
“Based mostly on preliminary evaluation of images, design assessment, simulation evaluation, and wind tunnel checks, a complete evaluation decided that the Shenzhou 20 manned spacecraft’s return capsule window glass had developed a minor crack, most probably brought on by an exterior impression from area particles,” the China Manned House Company wrote on Weibo, the Chinese language social media platform. “This doesn’t meet the discharge situations for a secure manned return.”
Swapping Spacecraft in Low-Earth Orbit
With their unique spacecraft deemed unsafe, Chen and his crewmates as an alternative rode again to Earth on the newer Shenzhou 21 craft that launched and arrived on the Tiangong station October 31. The three astronauts who launched on Shenzhou 21—Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang—stay aboard the almost 100-metric ton area station with solely the broken Shenzhou 20 craft accessible to deliver them dwelling.
China’s line of Shenzhou spaceships not solely present transportation to and from low-Earth orbit, additionally they function lifeboats to evacuate astronauts from the Chinese language area station within the occasion of an in-flight emergency, comparable to main failures or a medical disaster. They serve the identical function as Russian Soyuz and SpaceX Crew Dragon autos flying to and from the Worldwide House Station.
One other Shenzhou spacecraft, Shenzhou 22, “will probably be launched at a later date,” the China Manned House Company mentioned in a press release. Shenzhou 20 will stay in orbit to “proceed related experiments.” The Tiangong lab is designed to assist crews of six for under quick intervals, with longer stays of three astronauts.
