Overview
- Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie touched down at the Dongfeng landing site at 4:40 p.m. Beijing time after a nine-day delay, completing 204 days in orbit.
- CMSA said tiny cracks in a Shenzhou-20 return-capsule window, most likely from orbital debris, meant the spacecraft failed safety requirements for crewed reentry.
- The trio returned aboard the newly arrived Shenzhou-21, leaving Shenzhou-20 attached to Tiangong to remain in orbit for further work.
- With Shenzhou-21 used as the ride home, the current station crew temporarily lacks a flight-ready return craft until an uncrewed Shenzhou-22 is launched at an appropriate time.
- China’s assessment drew on photographs, design review, simulation and wind-tunnel testing, and the episode highlights rising risks from micrometeoroids and space debris to crewed operations.