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After NASA astronaut Sunita Williams’ Starliner space saga remained a mystery for months, three Chinese astronauts – part of the Shenzhou-21 crew – are now stranded in space. To rescue them, Beijing on Tuesday launched an empty Shenzhou-22 spacecraft to the Tiangong space station.
China’s ‘first emergency launch’
China will launch the Shenzhou-22 mission – the “first emergency launch” – from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to the Tiangong Space Station on Tuesday (Nov. 25), the China Manned Space Agency (CMS) announced on Monday.
“At 12:11 BJT, a Long March-2F rocket lifted off from Jiuquan carrying the uncrewed Shenzhou XXII spacecraft,” the Chinese space station posted on Twitter. The Shenzhou XXII spacecraft was sent into space “with a full cargo load,” she said.
The Chinese space station’s X handle further revealed that Shenzhou-22 was originally scheduled for a manned mission in April 2026.
But, the spacecraft has been “reassigned for launch to serve as the replacement crew ship for Shenzhou XXI.” [21] The crew is currently in orbit.”
Three Chinese astronauts got stuck in space. thanks to space debris
Three astronauts – taikonauts Zhang Lu, Zhang Hongzhang and Wu Fei – are stranded on the Tiangong space station until a new ship arrives.
Currently, they have no way to leave the station in the event of an emergency or at the end of their crew rotation, Space.com reports.
That’s because the spacecraft that delivered the Shenzhou 21 crew to space was repurposed to bring back their predecessor, the Shenzhou 20 astronauts. The Shenzhou 20 return vehicle was hit by space debris.
Yang Youguang, chairman of the Space Transportation Committee of the International Astronautical Federation, confirmed on Tuesday that a space debris collision had been detected on the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft.
“The Shenzhou 21 astronaut crew is operating normally and in good condition in orbit,” the China Manned Space Agency (CMS) said earlier.
China sent rescue ship
Yang Yuguang said on Tuesday that Shenzhou 22 could be identified as a “rescue ship” for the Shenzhou 21 crew.
He said the decision to send the “emergency” spacecraft was made because the Shenzhou 21 spacecraft had been used to return the preceding Shenzhou 20 crew.
“It was unexpected,” he said.
He further explained that the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft was being sent away only 20 days after authorities discovered cracks in the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft.
“It was a coincidence that we discovered the problem while being assigned to a different team,” he said.
China recalls Sunita Williams’ Starliner, Soyuz-MS22 mission
Yugua Yuguang complained that, “Soyuz-MS22 Spectacles [which was launched in September 2022] “When it was docked at the International Space Station it also collided with space debris and caused a coolant leak.”
The return of the Soyuz-MS22 crew was postponed for almost half a year.
He also mentioned the Boeing Starliner saga that left NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barrymore stranded in space.
“It was delayed by about nine months due to malfunctions in its propulsion system, as well as its hardware and software,” he said.
Yuguang praised China’s quick response in rescuing the Shenzhou 21 astronauts. “This time, we, China, delayed the return of the Shenzhou 20 crew by only nine days.”
Shenzhou 20 had already spent more than 200 days in space. They returned to Earth using the Shenzhou 21 spacecraft. And now the Shenzhou 21 crew will be brought to Earth by the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft.
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