China’s Shenzhou-20 crew has been temporarily stranded in orbit following a collision between their return capsule and suspected space junk, officials say.
According to reports, the incident occurred just hours before the astronauts were scheduled to return to Earth, prompting a safety review by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The affected spacecraft remains docked to the Tiangong station, where it has been since April, when it delivered the Shenzhou-20 crew. The spacecraft consists of three detachable sections: a power and propulsion module, crew living quarters, and a parachute-assisted return module, according to Ars Technica.
The taikonauts – Wang Jie, Chen Zhongrui, and Chen Dong – have been aboard the Tiangong space station since April 24. They were expected to return on Wednesday, November 5, after completing a successful handover of station operations to the Shenzhou-21 crew, which arrived on October 31.
At around 10:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday, CMSA confirmed via Weibo that the astronauts’ return had been delayed. The agency said an “impact analysis and risk assessment” were underway to assess the damage and ensure the safety of all six taikonauts currently on the station.
No further details have been released regarding the extent of the damage to the return capsule or the timeline for the crew’s safe return.
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