China’s Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft has delayed its return mission to Earth after the vessel was possibly hit by tiny bits of space debris, the country’s human spaceflight agency said yesterday, an unusual situation that could disrupt the operation of the country’s space station Tiangong.
An impact analysis and risk assessment are underway, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said in a statement, without providing a new schedule for the return mission, which was originally set to land in northern China yesterday.
The delay highlights the danger to space travel posed by increasing amounts of debris, such as discarded launch vehicles or vessel parts that float around in space hundreds of miles above the Earth, risking collisions with countries’ active assets.
Photo: Reuters
The Shenzhou program takes trios of Chinese astronauts to and from Tiangong for six-month stays where they perform tasks such as repairing damage to the station caused by debris impact.
The Shenzhou-19 crew’s return mission in April was delayed by one day due to weather conditions at the landing site, but this is the first time that a return mission has been delayed by space debris.
The CMSA did not say whether Shenzhou-20 was hit by debris mid-flight or while it was still aboard Tiangong, where the Shenzhou-21 is also docked after arriving last week. The crews of both vessels are in a handover period of several days. The statement did not mention Tiangong or Shenzhou-21.
According to well-established protocols, if the damage to Shenzhou-20 cannot be repaired aboard Tiangong, Shenzhou-21 would be used to transport the previous crew back to Earth. In the event both vessels are damaged beyond repair, a backup Shenzhou spacecraft would be sent from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
A backup Long March-2F rocket and Shenzhou spacecraft are always on standby at the launch center in the event of an in-orbit emergency.
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