Chinese astronauts celebrate aboard the Tiangong space station, showcasing camaraderie and achievement in space exploration with thumbs-up gestures and festive decorations.

Chinese astronauts celebrate aboard the Tiangong space station, showcasing camaraderie and achievement in space exploration with thumbs-up gestures and festive decorations.
The Shenzhou-20 crew returned to Earth safely using the Shenzhou-21 capsule. The three taikonauts from Shenzhou-21 crew that remained behind now have no vehicle to return home.

A space drama that caught the world’s attention has a happy ending – for now.

Three Chinese astronauts (or rather, taikonauts) from the Shenzhou-20 mission had been about 9 days stranded in the Tiangong Space Station after their re-entry capsule was reportedly hit by space debris.

Today, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV announced that they have returned safely to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-21 capsule.

Yes, you read it right – now it’s the ‘21’ crew that has no ride home – though their return date is still many months away.

Reuters reported:

“China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) revealed details about the debris damage for the first time on Friday, saying “tiny cracks” were found in a small window of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft’s return capsule.

‘The capsule does not meet the safety requirements for a crewed return, Shenzhou-20 will remain in orbit and conduct relevant experiments’, the agency said in a statement.”

 

“The crew left Tiangong on another spacecraft, the Shenzhou-21, according to CMSA, touching down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 4:40 p.m. (0840 GMT).

The mission began in April and went smoothly until the debris incident forced the Shenzhou-20’s return, originally scheduled for November 5, to be postponed, CMSA said.”

“China’s manned space program now has to deal with another logistical headache – how to get the space station’s newly arrived crew home in the event of an emergency. The Shenzhou-21 spacecraft and its three-person crew arrived at Tiangong two weeks ago.”

Read more:

Chinese Space Agency Says Astronauts Stranded in Tiangong Space Station Are in ‘Good Condition’, but No Date Announced Yet for Their Rescue

The post Chinese Astronauts Stranded in Tiangong Space Station Return to Earth After a Week’s Delay Caused by Space Junk Damaging Their Reentry Capsule (VIDEOS) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.