神舟二十号
China plans to deorbit Shenzhou 20 and bring it into the atmosphere at a later date.
Shenzhou 20 has a small crack in the window and has been determined to not meet safety standards for a return to Earth.
The departure was postponed due to an impact caused by space debris on the Shenzhou 20 capsule used for their return to Earth.
The three astronauts arrived at Tiangong on Shenzhou 20 and initially planned to depart on November 5.
Due to the Shenzhou 20 crew needing to stay longer than expected, supplies are likely to have diminished faster than anticipated, necessitating additional cargo to be delivered by the upcoming spacecraft.
On November 14th, the Shenzhou-20 crew returned to Earth via the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft after a space debris strike damaged their vehicle's window.
The China Manned Space Agency stated that the condition of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft does not meet the criteria for a safe manned return.
The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft is docked to the Tianhe module’s Earth-facing port at the Tiangong Space Station.
The crew of Shenzhou 21 is without a return spacecraft since the Shenzhou 20 was damaged by a micrometeoroid.
The impact of the micrometeoroid caused cracks in the window of the Shenzhou 20 capsule.
The Shenzhou 20 capsule was rendered unfit for the return flight, resulting in its crew returning to Earth aboard the current crew's spacecraft.
The food supplies delivered by the Shenzhou-22 will replace those consumed by the Shenzhou-20 and Shenzhou-21 crews during their stay.
The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft is the only crew-rated vehicle currently docked to Tiangong.
Once the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft is docked, the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft will return to Earth uncrewed with non-critical cargo.
CMSA has determined that Shenzhou 20's capsule does not meet the requirements for a safe manned return.
The three astronauts were aboard Shenzhou 20, which arrived at Tiangong on April 25 and was scheduled to leave Tiangong on November 5 after a six-month stay.
Xinhua reported that the return of the Shenzhou-20 crew marked the first successful implementation of an alternative return procedure in the history of China's space station program.
CMSA revealed that the Shenzhou 20 capsule is planned to remain in orbit to continue related experiments.
The vehicle used by the Shenzhou-21 crew was previously used by the Shenzhou-20 crew due to severe damage to their return spacecraft from space debris.
The Shenzhou-20 crew established a new record for the longest stay in orbit among Chinese astronaut crews.