BEIJING: China conducted an urgent unmanned spacecraft launch on Tuesday, after damage to a previous mission’s return capsule left the crew on its space station without a means of getting back to Earth.

The Long March-2F rocket carrying Shenzhou-22 lifted off shortly after midday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China, footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed.

Recent Shenzhou missions have been used to crew China’s Tiangong space station, exchanging teams of three astronauts every six months.

Shenzhou-22 was originally slated for a crewed launch in 2026.

But it was launched early after a suspected space debris strike to the Shenzhou-20 return capsule made it unsafe for re-entry to Earth, leaving its crew briefly stranded.

The Shenzhou-20 team returned aboard Shenzhou-21 on November 14 — nine days later than planned — leaving their relief crew without a reliable return vehicle.

The accelerated launch ensures Shenzhou-21 astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang have a safe return option.

The three were “working normally and in good condition”, the China Manned Space Agency said.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2025