(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Three Chinese astronauts whose return to earth was delayed by space debris hitting their vessel last week landed in China yesterday afternoon, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) revealed details about the debris damage for the first time yesterday, saying "tiny cracks" were found in a small window of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft's return capsule.
"The capsule does not meet the safety requirements for a crewed return, Shenzhou-20 will remain in orbit and conduct relevant experiments," the agency said in a statement.
The astronauts were due to return to earth nine days ago after completing a six-month mission on China's permanently inhabited Tiangong space station, a programme known as Shenzhou, or "Divine Vessel", when the crack was discovered.
The crew left Tiangong on another spacecraft, the Shenzhou-21, according to CMSA, touching down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 4:40pm (0840 GMT).
The mission began in April and went smoothly until the debris incident forced the Shenzhou-20's return, originally scheduled for November 5, to be postponed, CMSA said.
The delay, while only nine days, was highly unusual for a programme that had run like clockwork and in the past year reached new milestones, with the deployment of astronauts born in the 1990s, a world-record spacewalk and plans to send the first foreign astronaut, from Pakistan, to Tiangong next year.
Every Shenzhou mission on the Tiangong ends with a handover, where the departing crew welcomes the arriving crew that will take over the space station's operations. During the handover period of several days, two Shenzhou vessels are docked at the space station.
China's manned space programme now has to deal with another logistical headache - how to get the space station's newly arrived crew home in the event of an emergency. The Shenzhou-21 spacecraft and its three-person crew arrived at Tiangong two weeks ago.

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