3 Chinese astronauts return home after delay due to space debris

By Islamuddin Sajid and Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISLAMABAD / ISTANBUL (AA) - Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Friday around nine days behind schedule after their spacecraft was hit by suspected space debris, with Chinese state media airing their return live.

The Shenzhou-21 spacecraft, carrying the Shenzhou-20 astronaut team, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region.

On Nov. 5, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced that the crew’s journey home had been delayed following a likely impact from tiny orbital debris.

The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft "does not meet the requirements for the astronauts' safe return” and would instead remain in orbit, the agency said.

After more than 200 days in orbit, it took the crew some three hours to touch down on Earth after Shenzhou-21 spacecraft undocked from China’s Tiangong space station.

Mission commander Chen Dong has now logged more than 400 days in space – the first Chinese astronaut to reach that milestone – and holds the national record for spacewalks, with six extravehicular activities.

The crew will undergo an extended medical procedure soon after they are transported out of the space capsule.

China last month launched the Shenzhou-21, its sixth crewed flight mission, with three astronauts, locally known as taikonauts, including its youngest-ever astronaut, plus four mice.