Three astronauts are stranded in space after their return capsule was struck by ‘orbital debris’, it has been reported.
Wang Jie, Chen Zhongrui and Chen Dong, who were a part of the Shenzhou-20 space mission, flew to the Tiangong space station in April.
They were expected to return yesterday after a six-month mission, and the Shenzhou-21 crew, who were sent to exchange them, had already arrived on the weekend.
The China Manned Space Agency said: ‘The Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft is suspected to have been struck by a small piece of orbital debris, and assessment of the impact and associated risks is currently underway.
‘To make sure the health and safety of the astronauts and the successful completion of the mission, it has been decided that the originally planned return of Shenzhou-20 on November 5 will probably be postponed.’
The 2 crews remain on board Tiangong. A risk assessment is currently underway.
Authorities haven’t said when the incident occurred – and it has not been revealed whether Shenzhou-20 was hit by debris mid-flight or when it docked onto the space station.
Through the six-month missions, the astronauts perform different tasks, including repairing damage to the orbiting outpost.
There have been no problems reported earlier this week. State media said two crews enjoyed a meal of baked chicken – cooked on the space station’s first oven, which was delivered by the Shenzhou-21 team.
On Tuesday, the Shenzhou-20 and Shenzhou-21 crews conducted a handover ceremony.
Yu Jun, a science communicator known online as Steed’s Scarf, said a backup plan could also be activated if the spacecraft is deemed unsafe to return.
Yu said on the Chinese blogging platform Weibo: ‘Shenzhou-22 and the Long March 2F (launcher) were already on standby.
‘That is our rolling backup mechanism. They’re in “emergency duty” mode and able to bring our astronauts home safely if needed.’
China has continued to expand its space programme. It has to date accomplished 37 flights and 6 crewed missions – and has plans to land astronauts on the moon by the top of the last decade.
Chen Dong, the commander of Shenzhou-20, holds the country’s record for the longest time in space with 380 days cumulatively.
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