Chinese capsule damaged by space-junk strike returns to Earth (video)

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The first emergency operation in the history of China’s human spaceflight program ended on Monday (January 19) when an unmanned Shenzhou 20 capsule parachuted to the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The spacecraft had spent 270 days in orbit, docking for nine months at the country’s space station. Tiangong Space Station.

And that wasn’t the plan.

Delayed due to damage from space debris strike

Original Shenzhou Return Date 20 had been delayed due to concerns about tiny cracks found in the craft’s observation window. This damage was allegedly caused by a strike space debris.

On-site inspection of the capsule returned Monday found its exterior was “generally normal” and objects secured inside the craft were in good condition, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

The recovery team quickly took steps to protect the damaged porthole of the return capsule as it landed on dry land. This action was motivated by the need for post-landing assessment work on the damage sustained by the Shenzhou 20 capsule in space.

Emergency mission

The Shenzhou 20 incident triggered an emergency mission launch Shenzhou 22 spacecraft without crew in Tiangong on November 24. Now docked at the orbiting facility, this vehicle will serve the ship currently in orbit. Shenzhou 21 crew upon their scheduled return at the end of their six-month mission later this year.

The crew of the Shenzhou 20 returned to Earth on November 14 aboard the Shenzhou 21 capsule, after Chinese space officials deemed it too risky to lower them onto the damaged Shenzhou 20 spacecraft.

“In addition, along with the emergency launch of the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft, a window crack repair device was shipped and sent to the launch site,” CNSA officials said. “Astronauts installed it inside the Shenzhou 20 capsule, effectively improving the thermal protection and waterproof capabilities of the spacecraft during re-entry.”

Unique factors

State-run China Central Television (CCTV) reported that Xu Peng, the on-site commander at the Shenzhou 20 capsule landing site, said the return to Earth was unique in several ways.

“This is the first time that the Dongfeng landing site has carried out a spacecraft recovery mission during the coldest season of the year, with the cold being a test for both our search and rescue teams and equipment,” Xu said. “We made special cold protection preparations in advance to ensure that personnel and equipment remained in good condition throughout the mission.”

Xu also noted another unique factor of this unmanned return recovery operation: Ground recovery teams used new capsule recovery methods, such as drones and other high-tech equipment.

“Adjustments have been made to our recovery forces,” Xu said. “The helicopter unit did not participate in this mission, and the drone and unmanned ground vehicle units debuted. This new model, combining unmanned search equipment and ground personnel, was applied to the recovery of the unmanned capsule.”

Landing parachute

Furthermore, Xu added that because the Shenzhou 20 return capsule descended without astronauts, there were no crew members on board to manually separate the landing parachute.

“As a result, the main parachute did not detach automatically during landing, and in strong winds, it could have driven the capsule back to the ground. This requires our ground personnel to reach the landing point and cut off the parachute as quickly as possible,” Xu said.

One of the items carried in the uncrewed Shenzhou 20 capsule was a retired spacewalk object. diving suit. This spacesuit was used for more than four years in orbit, far exceeding its original lifespan, CCTV reported. During this period, the suit supported 11 Chinese astronauts during eight crewed missions, enabling 20 successful missions. spacewalks to bring.

Lively discussions

The Shenzhou 20 crew inspected their vehicle after it suffered damage in orbit. They observed that the porthole had an unexpected mark on the edge of the outermost pane – a triangular shape, about two centimeters long, according to one report. report by the official Xinhua news agency.

The window of the Shenzhou capsule is made of three layers of glass. “The outermost layer is a heat-resistant window, which can resist the high-temperature ablation caused by the high-speed movement of the spacecraft and the intense friction with air when re-entering the atmosphere,” the Xinhua report said.

“The middle layer is a pressure-resistant window, and the inner layer is a protective window, which can ensure the airtightness of the cabin and the stability of the spacecraft structure, but their heat resistance is less than half of that of the heat-resistant window,” Xinhua reported.

A Shenzhou 20 “Problem Analysis and Safety Assessment Report” was compiled based on laboratory tests that answered a key question: Can a cracked heat shield withstand the extreme environment of atmospheric reentry? The consensus? “Life comes first and safety comes first.”

Continuous backup mode

Since the Shenzhou 12 mission, China’s human spaceflight program has adopted a “continuous backup mode”: “one launch, one backup”.

But, as noted in the Xinhua report, this “sleep” mode of the spacecraft was never actually necessary. “This time, the state of waiting unexpectedly turned into an emergency fight, and the tests came one after the other,” Xinhua reported.

The actions taken – from the crew report, followed by concerns and ground assessment, to the launch of the Shenzhou 22 without a crew – were completed in 16 days.

Meanwhile, a Shenzhou 23 spacecraft has arrived at China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, and its Long March 2F Y23 booster is about to be shipped, CNSA noted.

“With the return of the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft, the main tasks of this emergency space operation for the Chinese space station have been successfully completed,” CNSA officials said.