China launches Shenzhou 22 spacecraft to assist in return of 3 astronauts stranded on space station

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China has launched the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft to assistance bring backmost a squad of astronauts aft a damaged spacecraft near them temporarily stranded connected China's abstraction station

ByThe Associated Press

November 25, 2025, 12:11 AM

BEIJING -- China launched the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft connected Tuesday to assistance bring backmost a squad of astronauts aft a damaged spacecraft near them temporarily stranded connected China's abstraction station.

The Shenzhou 22 volition beryllium utilized sometime successful 2026 by the 3 astronauts who docked connected the Tiangong abstraction presumption connected Nov. 1.

Earlier this month, different radical of Chinese astronauts from the Shenzhou 20 ngo faced a nine-day hold successful their instrumentality to Earth aft their craft's model was damaged. They yet returned utilizing the Shenzhou 21 spacecraft, which had conscionable carried the replacement unit to Tiangong.

While the three-person unit landed safely connected Earth, 3 of their chap astronauts connected the replacement unit were temporarily near without a guaranteed mode to instrumentality successful lawsuit of an emergency.

The Shenzhou 20 spacecraft — the damaged one, which for present remains successful abstraction — volition beryllium brought down to Earth aboriginal and assessed, according to authorities broadcaster CCTV. The abstraction programme determined it didn't conscionable information standards for transporting the astronauts.

Chinese astronauts person been carrying retired missions to the Tiangong abstraction presumption successful caller years arsenic portion of Beijing's rapidly progressing abstraction program, initially gathering retired the presumption module-by-module.

China developed Tiangong aft the state was excluded from the International Space Station implicit U.S. nationalist information concerns, since China's abstraction programme is controlled by its military.

Tiangong, which means “Heavenly Palace,” hosted its archetypal unit successful 2021. It is smaller than the International Space Station, which has been operating for 25 years.