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Manila Bulletin devider World devider China's stranded astronauts to return from space station on spacecraft that brought new crew

China's stranded astronauts to return from space station on spacecraft that brought new crew

Published Nov 14, 2025 08:49 am
BEIJING (AP) — A three-person crew stranded at China's space station after their spacecraft was apparently hit by space debris will return Friday using the craft that brought their replacement crew, state media said.
FILE - Chinese astronaut for the Shenzhou 20 mission, Chen Dong, center, speaks next to his comrades Chen Zhongrui, right, and Wang Jie as they attend a send-off ceremony for their manned space mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, file)
FILE - Chinese astronaut for the Shenzhou 20 mission, Chen Dong, center, speaks next to his comrades Chen Zhongrui, right, and Wang Jie as they attend a send-off ceremony for their manned space mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, file)
The three astronauts were on a six-month rotation at the space station and supposed to return four days after the new crew arrived on Nov. 1.
Their return was aborted after their Shenzhou-20 spacecraft was believed to have been struck by a small piece of space debris. They are coming back using the Shenzhou-21 craft instead, state media said.
The three astronauts — Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie — traveled to the Tiangong space station in April.
The were "in good condition, working and living normally," China's Manned Space Engineering office said on Tuesday.
China has made steady progress with its space program since 2003. It has built its own space station and has a goal of landing a person on the moon by 2030.
The latest Shenzhou-21 mission brought mice for experiments, a first for China's space program.

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