Possible space debris hit delays return of China’s astronauts

Nov. 5 (UPI) — The return to orbit of three Chinese astronauts has been suspended after space debris caused damage as they prepared to return to Earth.

The China Human Spaceflight Agency said Wednesday that Shenzhou 20 mission commander Chen Dong and astronauts Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie will stay longer in space on China’s Tiangong space station after their return craft was hit by suspected debris.

“To ensure the health and safety of the astronauts and the success of the mission, it was decided that the originally planned return of Shenzhou-20 on November 5 would be postponed,” according to the Chinese space agency.

In April, the Shenzhou 20 trio was launched via the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert for a six-month rotation to Tiangong and arrived on board after a six-hour journey.

China aims to put a man on the Moon by 2030.

China’s manned space program has executed about 37 flights, six of which were crewed by Chinese astronauts.

Its replacement mission Shenzhou 21 took off late last month for a six-month research visit.

Meanwhile, Chinese space agency officials said crew members from both missions would remain at Tiangong while the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft underwent impact analysis.