China's uncrewed Shenzhou-22 spacecraft has successfully docked with the Tiangong space station, providing relief to the crew who were relying on a damaged capsule with a cracked window as their only ride home.
Shenzhou-22 was launched at 4.11 am UTC on Tuesday, November 25, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on a fast-track rendezvous with the orbiting complex. Docking occurred a few hours later. Although the vehicle was not carrying a crew, it was loaded with fresh supplies and a repair kit for a cracked window on the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft.
Shenzhou-22 will now serve as the return vessel for the three Shenzhou-21 astronauts, whose own spacecraft was used to return the Shenzhou-20 crew to Earth. Shenzhou-22 was supposed to launch in 2026, but was on standby at the launch site in case it was required. Chinese media called it the "first emergency launch" in the country's crewed space program.
The docking restores a safe lifeboat for the three astronauts aboard Tiangong. While emergency return via the damaged Shenzhou-20 was technically possible, controllers deemed the cracked window too risky. Failure could have caused capsule depressurization, which is manageable with pressure suits, or, at worst, loss of vehicle and crew.
The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft was initially scheduled to return on November 5. This was delayed when cracks in the capsule's window, potentially caused by space debris, were found. Managers decided to send the Shenzhou-20 crew back in the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft, leaving the Shenzhou-21 crew on Tiangong with a damaged lifeboat.
The impact of this episode on China's space program remains unclear, though it may affect the planned 2026 long-duration mission. The crisis underscores calls for greater international standardization in human spaceflight - without Shenzhou-22 on standby, China would have faced difficult questions about crew retrieval options.
The incident joins a history of spaceflight close calls: NASA considering a Skylab rescue, a Russian Soyuz suffering an orbital coolant leak, and, Boeing's Starliner crew requiring a SpaceX Crew Dragon return when their Calamity Capsule was deemed unsafe to make the journey. ®
Source: The register