On January 19, the Chinese spacecraft Shenzhou-20 made a successful landing at the Dongfeng test site in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It landed in unmanned mode due to damage, presumably caused by a collision with space debris.
Shenzhou-20 was launched on April 24, 2025. The spacecraft delivered three taikonauts to the Tiangong space station. Their orbital mission lasted six months, during which they performed four spacewalks and conducted a series of research and experiments.
After the arrival of the Shenzhou-21 replacement expedition, the Shenzhou-20 crew began preparing for their return to Earth. It was scheduled to take place on November 5. However, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) postponed it. The reason was damage to the outer layer of the heat-resistant glass of the window, which was discovered during an inspection of the spacecraft. It was triangular in shape and measured 2 centimeters. Most likely, the damage was caused by a fragment of space debris.
After assessing the situation, CMSA decided to return the Shenzhou-20 crew on the Shenzhou-21 replacement expedition spacecraft, which had arrived at the station a few days earlier. They returned safely to Earth on November 14. On November 25, the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft was launched in unmanned mode. It successfully docked with the Tiangong station, providing its crew with a vehicle to return to Earth.
As for the damaged Shenzhou-20, during a subsequent spacewalk, the taikonauts took detailed photographs of the crack in its window. In addition, they carried out repairs, increasing the heat resistance and airtightness of the damaged window using a kit delivered from Earth by Shenzhou-22.
On January 9, Shenzhou-20 undocked from Tiangong, entered the atmosphere, and landed. According to an official statement from the Chinese authorities, its descent module suffered no external or internal damage, and the equipment and items inside are in good condition. Thus, China has successfully dealt with an abnormal situation that threatened to disrupt its manned space program.
According to Xinhua News
