The new crew of the Chinese orbital station "Tianhe" is stranded in space after three other astronauts flew home not on their own spacecraft. Currently, the Chinese astronauts have no safe way to return to Earth, writes Focus.
Three more Chinese astronauts from the "Shenzhou-21" mission are stranded in orbit after the successful return to Earth of three astronauts from the "Shenzhou-20" mission, who had previously been stuck in space at the "Tianhe" station. According to experts, the recent events indicate a potential flaw in China's space protocols that could expose astronauts to undue risk, writes Live Science.
Return of the "Shenzhou-20" Mission Astronauts to Earth On October 31, as previously reported by Focus, Chinese astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang arrived at the "Tianhe" space station aboard the "Shenzhou-21" spacecraft. They replaced the previous crew of the station from the "Shenzhou-20" mission, which included astronauts Wang Jie, Chen Zhongrui, and Chen Dong. These three were supposed to return to Earth on November 5.
However, it turned out that the "Shenzhou-20" spacecraft was damaged by a piece of space debris. In particular, one of the spacecraft's portholes was affected, making a safe return of the astronauts to Earth impossible. Therefore, the "Shenzhou-20" crew returned home on November 14 aboard the "Shenzhou-21" spacecraft, as previously reported by Focus. But this means that the "Shenzhou-21" crew has no way to return to Earth on their own.
Recent reports from the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) hint that a "Shenzhou-22" spacecraft will be sent to the "Tianhe" station on November 24, but without astronauts. However, if something potentially dangerous happens to the "Shenzhou-21" crew before then, such as a collision with space debris, these astronauts may not be able to return safely to Earth.
Victoria Samson, a space security expert from the U.S., states that the situation is very concerning, as the "Shenzhou-21" crew has no vehicle to return home.
Once the new spacecraft arrives at the "Tianhe" station, the damaged spacecraft will likely be deorbited and sunk in the Pacific Ocean. The "Shenzhou-21" crew is expected to complete their six-month mission as originally planned.
It is still unclear why the CMSA decided to bring back the "Shenzhou-20" crew before launching the new spacecraft into space. One possible reason is that the Chinese orbital station "Tianhe," which is only 20% the size of the International Space Station (ISS), cannot accommodate six astronauts for an extended period. Although the CMSA had previously stated that this was not an issue.
It is also possible that in the event of an emergency, the stranded "Shenzhou-21" crew could return home aboard the damaged spacecraft.
Chinese "Shenzhou" spacecraft consist of three parts: a propulsion module, a crew living module, and a descent module. If the damaged porthole is not in the descent module, the astronauts will be able to return home if necessary.
Unfortunately, due to the limited information that China discloses about its missions and spacecraft, it is not possible to get a complete picture of the dangerous situation that has arisen.
