China sets launch date to replace debris-damaged spacecraft in orbit – Jalopnik

Three taikonauts have been stranded on the Tiangong space station in the past five days. The Chinese space program decided to use the Shenzhou-21 return capsule to return the Shenzhou-20 crew to Earth after their spacecraft was damaged by space debris. The agency said in an airspace closure notice on Monday that it will launch an empty vehicle for the stranded SZ-21 crew on the Tiangong space station next week. After the rescue boat’s arrival, the crew will continue their six-month stay in low Earth orbit.

A spanner was thrown in the works of China’s space program when debris struck the docked Shenzhou-20 spacecraft earlier this month. After finding a crack in a window, the agency ruled it unsafe for the capsule to reenter the atmosphere that had been taken less than a day before its scheduled reentry. According to Space.comThe launch rescheduling means the Shenzhou-22 will be launched empty next week instead of the planned mission in April 2026. A spokesperson for China’s Manned Space Agency told a state broadcaster: “The mission to launch the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft has started, with preparations for all systems in full swing, including testing the spacecraft and rocket components and preparing the payload.”

Unlike NASA, CMSA is always prepared with a backup spacecraft that can be quickly prepared for an improvised emergency launch. The US space agency had a similar dilemma last year during the Boeing Crew Flight Test. After problems arose with the Boeing Starliner’s thrust, NASA deemed it unsafe for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to fly the plane back from the International Space Station unless the faults were corrected. The eight-day mission lasted three months until the service returned Starliner empty.

To accommodate Wilmore and Williams’ return, NASA postponed the SpaceX Crew-9 mission and benched two of the flight’s four astronauts before leaving to free up seats. The September 2024 launch also included SpaceX spacesuits for Wilmore and Williams, as NASA did not require IVA suits to be cross-compatible between different contractors in the Commercial Crew Program.

The only complication for Wilmore and Williams was that Crew-9 did not return to Earth sooner due to their predicament. After launching to the ISS in June 2024, the stranded duo would not return to Earth until March 2025. Elon Musk claimed he offered President Joe Biden a SpaceX emergency mission to get them back sooner, and that the offer was rejected for “political reasons.” However, no one at NASA heard of this so-called offer. After being directly called out on his lie, the trillion-dollar CEO threatened to crash the ISS into the ocean, a completely normal reaction for an adult.