China’s Shenzhou-22 reaches Tiangong space station to rescue astronauts after spacecraft’s cracked glass strands them

Earlier this year, US astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore were brought back to Earth after being stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months.

The Shenzhou-22 will take the place of Shenzhou-21, which brought three astronauts — Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang — back to Earth on November 14. Once that capsule departed, the current crew had no functioning escape vehicle on standby.

Shenzhou-22 rescue mission launches to Tiangong Space Station (Photo: CCTV).

Why are the Chinese astronauts stranded on Tiangong Space Station?

The astronauts had been forced to rely on the fresh capsule because their designated Shenzhou-20 return ship was found to have tiny cracks in one of its portholes, damage suspected to be caused by space debris. The flaw made it unsafe for a crewed descent.

Shenzhou-20 will be repaired and sent back to Earth at a later stage, but only as a cargo vessel without astronauts.

Any additional issues could complicate the crew’s planned return around April next year. According to state news agency Xinhua, the China Manned Space Agency said the astronauts aboard Tiangong remained healthy and continued their routine work.

China’s state-run news agency Xinhua reported that Shenzhou-22 brought up fresh produce, food supplies, medicine, spare components for the station and tools designed for reinforcing the damaged porthole on Shenzhou-20.

Once the equipment is received, the crew will inspect the damaged area and determine the next steps, state broadcaster CCTV said.

China successfully sent its unmanned Shenzhou-22 spaceship into orbit on November 25, marking the first emergency launch mission in the country’s manned space program, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). https://t.co/QRR6jawVSL pic.twitter.com/OF4B1d4cIu

— CCTV+ (@CCTV_Plus) November 25, 2025

Why Chinese crew can’t come on repaired spacecraft

Zheng Wei, a researcher at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), explained the complexity of repairing the affected glass.

According to SCMC, Zheng said removing the glass was too risky, meaning repairs could only be done internally, strengthening the structure from within. Because complete safety could not be ensured in a crewed scenario, the spacecraft will not be used to transport astronauts back to Earth. However, Zheng said the ship can still carry cargo safely after reinforcement measures applied during this mission.

Shenzhou-22 was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China on a Long March-2F Y22 rocket.

According to Xinhua, the spacecraft includes several upgrades — such as enhancements to the instrument system, more room for payload installation and refinements to various components — improvements that will be incorporated into future vessels.