神舟二十号
Shenzhou-20 is deemed unsafe for crew return.
During routine pre-return checks, the Shenzhou-20 crew spotted an abnormal mark on the return capsule portview window.
The Shenzhou-20 crew was briefly stranded due to the unsafe conditions of their return capsule.
Shenzhou-22 was launched early after a suspected space debris strike made the Shenzhou-20 return capsule unsafe for re-entry.
The Shenzhou-20 team returned aboard Shenzhou-21 on November 14, nine days later than planned.
The delayed return of the Shenzhou-20 crew left their relief crew without a reliable return vehicle.
The Shenzhou 20 spacecraft needs to be moved within the next five months to free up the docking port for the scheduled manned mission Shenzhou 23 in April 2026.
Shenzhou 22 was launched by a Long March 2F/G rocket and carried various supplies, including food, medicine, and equipment to repair Shenzhou 20's cracked window.
The Shenzhou 20 spacecraft became unusable due to a collision with space debris.
Astronauts returned to Earth aboard the Shenzhou 21 spacecraft instead of Shenzhou 20.
The Shenzhou 20 capsule remains docked at the Tiangong space station for related experiments.
Shenzhou-20 returned to Earth on November 14th with Commander Chen Dong, Operator Chen Zhongrui, and Science Operator Wang Jie.
The decision to launch Shenzhou-22 was made after the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft was damaged by debris.
The process from identifying an issue with Shenzhou-20 to launching Shenzhou-22 took twenty days.
The Shenzhou-22 spacecraft carries a specialized device to address the crack in the Shenzhou-20 window.
The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft suffered damage to a window.
The crew of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft returned on November 14 on the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft, which had delivered a new crew to Tiangong at the end of October.
The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft had been at the Tiangong space station since late April.
The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) called off the planned return of three astronauts on the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft due to evidence of a micrometeoroid or orbital debris strike.
The launch of Shenzhou 22 will occur 20 days after the damage to Shenzhou 20 was discovered.