A space drama that caught the world’s attention has a happy ending – for now.
Three Chinese astronauts (or rather, taikonauts) from the Shenzhou-20 mission had been about 9 days stranded in the Tiangong Space Station after their re-entry capsule was reportedly hit by space debris.
Today, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV announced that they have returned safely to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-21 capsule.
Yes, you read it right – now it’s the ‘21’ crew that has no ride home – though their return date is still many months away.
China’s Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship undocked from the space station combination at 11:14 on November 14 (Beijing Time) to send the Shenzhou-20 astronauts back to Earth, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).https://t.co/XETdw7tthh pic.twitter.com/4HoU65wBdQ
— CCTV+ (@CCTV_Plus) November 14, 2025
Reuters reported:
“China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) revealed details about the debris damage for the first time on Friday, 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.”
CHINESE ASTRONAUTS LAND SAFELY AFTER SPACE JUNK SCARE
A piece of space debris hit China’s Shenzhou-20 capsule, cracking a window and grounding the spacecraft.
The 3 astronauts were supposed to land 9 days earlier but had to switch to a backup spacecraft mid-orbit.
The… https://t.co/lajI4ZIQfn pic.twitter.com/5KyIYTIQJB
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) November 14, 2025
“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 4:40 p.m. (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 three astronauts of the Shenzhou-19 crewed mission were all out of the return capsule on Wednesday afternoon, and the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) declared the mission a success. pic.twitter.com/FD4yXfXq8V
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) April 30, 2025
“China’s manned space program 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.”
Shenzhou XX astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wangjie have exited the re-entry capsule of the spacecraft — all in good physical condition.
Cheers to a successful mission! [/CMG] pic.twitter.com/f2IozOYckI
— Chinese Space Station (@CNSpaceStation) November 14, 2025
Read more:
Chinese Space Agency Says Astronauts Stranded in Tiangong Space Station Are in ‘Good Condition’, but No Date Announced Yet for Their Rescue
The post Chinese Astronauts Stranded in Tiangong Space Station Return to Earth After a Week’s Delay Caused by Space Junk Damaging Their Reentry Capsule (VIDEOS) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.