The Shenzhou-20 Mission Crew Returns to Earth After 204 Days at the Tiangong Station

Three Chinese taikonauts Chen Dong, Wang Jie, and Chen Zhongrui returned to Earth after completing their mission at the Tiangong space station. Their landing took place on November 14 in Inner Mongolia.

What is known

The Shenzhou-20 mission lasted 204 days – the longest crew stay on the Chinese orbital station. The mission launched on April 24, and the return was initially scheduled for November 5. However, the reentry capsule launch was postponed due to damage, which, according to preliminary assumptions, happened as a result of a collision with an object, presumably space debris.

Engineers from the China Manned Space Agency conducted an inspection of the backup capsule of the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft, which delivered the next crew to the station. It was this capsule that the astronauts used to return to Earth.

The Shenzhou-21 detached from "Tiangong" on November 14 at 11:14 Beijing time. At 14:49, the capsule with the descent module separated, and at 16:40 it landed.

Shenzhou-20 was the ninth mission to the "Tiangong" space station and the fifteenth Chinese manned flight overall.

Source: Space.com