China’s Damaged Shenzhou-20 Spacecraft to Return Uncrewed for Inspection
China’s first crewed spacecraft ever declared unfit for flight mid-mission will return to Earth without astronauts so experts can assess the damage it sustained, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Monday.
The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft was originally scheduled to bring its crew back to Earth on 5 November after a six-month stay aboard the Tiangong space station. However, the mission was abruptly delayed when astronauts discovered a crack in one of the return capsule’s windows just before departure — a first in the history of China’s human spaceflight programme.
Emergency Measures and Crew Return
After the incident, the Shenzhou-20 crew was forced to return home nine days later aboard a separate spacecraft. This left Tiangong temporarily without a flightworthy return vehicle, a risky situation in case of an emergency.
To address the gap, China launched its first emergency spacecraft mission on 25 November, just 20 days after announcing the delay. The quick turnaround demonstrated the country’s growing capacity to respond rapidly to spaceflight contingencies, even as officials worked to determine the cause and extent of the damage.
Assessing the Damage
CCTV reported that Shenzhou-20, which remains docked at Tiangong, will soon begin its uncrewed return journey to Earth. Ji Qiming, spokesperson for the China Manned Space Agency, said the decision would allow engineers to “obtain the most authentic experimental data” during re-entry.
Jia Shijin, one of the spacecraft’s designers, explained that the damage was caused by a small fragment of space debris, estimated to be less than one millimetre in size but travelling at extremely high speed. “The resulting crack extends over a centimetre,” he told CCTV. “We cannot directly inspect it in orbit, so we will study it closely once Shenzhou-20 returns.”
Avoiding a Potential Disaster
Jia added that engineers delayed the return mission out of caution, fearing that the crack might worsen during re-entry. In a worst-case scenario, he said, the crack could have caused cabin depressurisation, allowing high-speed gases to flood the capsule and endanger the astronauts’ lives.
The investigation into the incident will provide vital data for China’s future crewed missions and highlight the growing risks posed by space debris in low Earth orbit.
with inputs from Reuters
