China carried out an emergency unmanned spacecraft launch on Tuesday after damage to a previous mission’s return capsule left the crew aboard its space station without a safe means of returning to Earth.
It marks the first emergency launch in the history of China’s manned space programme.
Footage shows the Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft lifting off shortly after midday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.
The spacecraft later separated from the rocket and entered its planned orbit, with the China Manned Space Agency declaring the launch a 'complete success'.
Shenzhou-22 had originally been scheduled for a crewed launch in 2026, but was brought forward after a suspected space debris strike damaged the Shenzhou-20 return capsule, rendering it unsafe for re-entry and temporarily stranding its crew.
The Shenzhou-20 astronauts eventually returned aboard Shenzhou-21 on November 14, nine days behind schedule, leaving the relief crew without a reliable return vehicle.
The expedited launch ensures that the current Shenzhou-21 astronauts, Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang, now have a secure means of returning home. The China Manned Space Agency said on Monday, ahead of the launch, that the three astronauts were “working normally and in good condition.”
Previous Shenzhou missions have been used to crew China’s Tiangong space station, with teams of three astronauts rotating roughly every six months.
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