China’s Shenzhou-20 spacecraft returns to Earth broken and unbroken

Chinas Shenzhou-20 spacecraft returns to Earth broken and unbroken

China’s Shenzhou-20 spacecraft returned to Earth with no astronauts inside – just metal, heat and a cracked window – touching down at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia on Monday. The hull appeared to be darkened after enduring the intense heat and stress of re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. But on-site inspections revealed the capsule’s…

China’s Shenzhou-20 spacecraft returned to Earth with no astronauts inside – just metal, heat and a cracked window – touching down at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia on Monday.

The hull appeared to be darkened after enduring the intense heat and stress of re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. But on-site inspections revealed the capsule’s exterior was generally intact and the returned items inside were in good condition, according to Chinese space authorities.

In an interview with state broadcaster CCTV on Monday, Zheng Wei, deputy chief designer of the crewed spacecraft system at the China Academy of Space Technology, said history had been made.

“The spacecraft’s return was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, resulting in an actual in-orbit duration of nine months – a record for China’s crewed missions,” Zheng explained. “Consequently, the operational data accumulated during this extended period is exceptionally precious.”

In November last year, a crack discovered in a window of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft forced its three Chinese astronauts to remain on board the Tiangong space station for nine extra days and eventually borrow their newly arrived colleagues’ ship to return to Earth.
Zheng said the emergency operation showed there was a need to better understand space debris threats, noting that even with low probability, the risk was serious and required better awareness, design and planning.

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