A space drama that caught the world’s attention has a happy ending – for now.
Three Chinese astronauts (or rather, taikonauts) from the Shenzhou-20 mission had been about 9 days stranded in the Tiangong Space Station after their re-entry capsule was reportedly hit by space debris.
Today, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV announced that they have returned safely to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-21 capsule.
Yes, you read it right – now it’s the ‘21’ crew that has no ride home – though their return date is still many months away.
China’s Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship undocked from the space station combination at 11:14 on November 14 (Beijing Time) to send the Shenzhou-20 astronauts back to Earth, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).https://t.co/XETdw7tthh pic.twitter.com/4HoU65wBdQ
— CCTV+ (@CCTV_Plus) November 14, 2025
Reuters reported:
“China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) revealed details about the debris damage for the first time on Friday, saying “tiny cracks” were found in a small window of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft’s return capsule.
‘The capsule does not meet the safety requirements for a crewed return, Shenzhou-20 will remain in orbit and conduct relevant experiments’, the agency said in a statement.”
CHINESE ASTRONAUTS LAND SAFELY AFTER SPACE JUNK SCARE
A piece of space debris hit China’s Shenzhou-20 capsule, cracking a window and grounding the spacecraft.
The 3 astronauts were supposed to land 9 days earlier but had to switch to a backup spacecraft mid-orbit.
The… https://t.co/lajI4ZIQfn pic.twitter.com/5KyIYTIQJB
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) November 14, 2025
“The crew left Tiangong on another spacecraft, the Shenzhou-21, according to CMSA, touching down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 4:40 p.m. (0840 GMT).
The mission began in April and went smoothly until the debris incident forced the Shenzhou-20’s return, originally scheduled for November 5, to be postponed, CMSA said.”
The three astronauts of the Shenzhou-19 crewed mission were all out of the return capsule on Wednesday afternoon, and the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) declared the mission a success. pic.twitter.com/FD4yXfXq8V
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) April 30, 2025
“China’s manned space program now has to deal with another logistical headache – how to get the space station’s newly arrived crew home in the event of an emergency. The Shenzhou-21 spacecraft and its three-person crew arrived at Tiangong two weeks ago.”
Shenzhou XX astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wangjie have exited the re-entry capsule of the spacecraft — all in good physical condition.
Cheers to a successful mission! [/CMG] pic.twitter.com/f2IozOYckI
— Chinese Space Station (@CNSpaceStation) November 14, 2025
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