US EditionDamaged Chinese spacecraft lands back on earth
- On January 19, 2026, the Shenzhou-20 return capsule touched down at the Dongfeng landing site at 9:34 a.m., and the China Manned Space Agency reported the capsule and items inside were in overall good condition.
- A suspected small-space-debris impact in November delayed the return, prompting simulations and a December 9, 2025 spacewalk by Shenzhou-21 crew to photograph and repair a cracked porthole, with the Shenzhou-22 uncrewed spacecraft launched on November 25 to deliver repair devices.
- Launched April 24, 2025 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft spent 270 days in orbit and undocked at 12:23 a.m. Monday for an unmanned return.
- The CMSA said China met major emergency-mission objectives, as on-orbit inspections and the repair device bolstered reentry safety and enabled completion of the emergency sequence.
- Shenzhou-23 has arrived at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center as backup, with the Long March-2F Y23 rocket soon to be ready; the November 25 Shenzhou-22 emergency launch showed rapid response capability.
30 Articles
30 Articles
The return capsule of the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft, which was apparently hit by a piece of space debris, landed safely back on Earth on Monday. Ground search teams located and recovered the unmanned craft, according to local media, successfully completing China's first emergency space mission. The recovery was complicated by freezing temperatures and strong winds. Video footage was provided by Reuters.
The three taikonauts have been back on Earth for two months, now their spaceship »Shenzhou 20« has also landed in the Gobi Desert. China speaks of a »full success«.
China's damaged spaceship "Shenzhou 20" has returned to Earth. It should have landed on November 4th, but cracks in the window delayed the return. According to experts, "Shenzhou 20" had probably collapsed with small space scraps. Two months ago, China's authorities had to launch an emergency protocol for the first time to bring the stranded three-person crew back to Earth. Spacemen went to the already-docted capsule of the successor "Shenzhou 2…
Because damage was detected at the window of the spaceship "Shenzhou 20", three Chinese astronauts had to be brought back with an emergency plan. Now their spaceship is back on Earth - but in what condition? And what caused the damage?
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