The return to Earth of three Chinese astronauts until an undetermined date after their spacecraft apparently hit a small piece of debris, according to Chinese State Media.
The three astronauts from the Shenzhou-20 mission flew to the Tiangong Space Station in April, and are expected to return on Wednesday at the end of a six-month mission. Their replacements, the crew of Shenzhou-21, arrived at the end of the week.
“The Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft is suspected to have been hit by a small piece of orbital debris, and the evaluation of the impact of Space in a statement.
“To ensure 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 be postponed.”
Authorities did not say when the incident is believed to have happened. There was no sign of any issues earlier this week, with state media reporting on two crew members enjoying a meal cooked in the Space Station’s oven, provided by the Shenzhou-21 team. On Tuesday both teams reportedly held a Handover ceremony, with videos Posted on Social Media.
A popular aerospace and science communication, yu Jun, who posted under the name scarf, said when the assessments will be known that there is a “plan to identify a waiting backup ship on the ground.
“Shenzhou-22 and the long March 2F (launcher) are on standby. This is our backup at home.
China continues to develop its conventional space program, which has managed 37 missions and six manned flights, and aims to put a man on the Moon by 2030.
The returning Shenzhou-20 team’s Commander, Chen Dong, already holds a Chinese record for the longest cumulative spaceflight, with the highest number of spacewalks.
There are no Chinese astronauts on the International Space Station, a collaboration between the US, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan, because of a law that astronauts come from the United States. But China said it expects to welcome international cooperation in Tiangong.
Additional reporting by Jason Tzu Kuan Lu, Lillian Yang, and agencies