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The Shenzhou 22 will be used sometime in 2026 by the three
astronauts who docked on the Tiangong space station on Nov. 1.
Earlier this month, another group of Chinese astronauts from the
Shenzhou 20 mission faced a nine-day delay in their return to
Earth after their craft's window was damaged. They eventually
returned using the Shenzhou 21 spacecraft, which had just
carried the replacement crew to Tiangong.
While the three-person crew landed safely on Earth, three of
their fellow astronauts on the replacement crew were temporarily
left without a guaranteed way to return in case of an emergency.
The Shenzhou 20 spacecraft — the damaged one, which for now
remains in space — will be brought down to Earth later and
assessed, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The space program
determined it didn't meet safety standards for transporting the
astronauts.
Chinese astronauts have been carrying out missions to the
Tiangong space station in recent years as part of Beijing's
rapidly progressing space program, initially building out the
station module-by-module.
China developed Tiangong after the country was excluded from the
International Space Station over U.S. national security
concerns, since China's space program is controlled by its
military.
Tiangong, which means “Heavenly Palace,” hosted its first crew
in 2021. It is smaller than the International Space Station,
which has been operating for 25 years.
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