China fires off emergency lifeboat for taikonauts on Tiangong - Here's the catch

China launched an empty capsule to provide a vehicle for the safe return of three astronauts on board the Tiangong Space Station in case of an emergency. The Shenzhou 21 crew was stranded in space after their return spacecraft was used to bring back the Shenzhou 20 crew, whose own vehicle was damaged by apparent space debris. The Shenzhou 22 spacecraft was launched aboard a Long March 2F rocket with cargo at 10:41 am IST on Tuesday. It docked with the Chinese space station, covering 400 kilometres in three and a half hours. The new ship wasn't supposed to fly till next year, but the absence of one for the crew at Tiangong led China to pull things into high gear. The engineers responded with a successful earlier launch to ensure Shenzhou 21 was not left without a safety net.

Also Read: Three more Chinese taikonauts stranded in space as previous crew used their return capsule

On November 4, the ship that was supposed to bring the Shenzhou 20 crew back was found damaged. Its window was damaged, likely from space junk. The astronauts took pictures, which confirmed that a small triangular area had a crack. They could not board the capsule and were left waiting for further instructions. The Chinese space officials decided to bring them back on the Shenzhou 21 return vehicle, whose crew had recently reached orbit. The previous crew returned on November 14.

Why China rushed to launch a new vehicle to Tiangong

But this meant the new crew had nothing to use in case of an emergency. Notably, a medical emergency or another encounter with space junk or a meteorite would trigger an evacuation on board a capsule. Engineers at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China’s remote Gobi Desert got to work to prepare a new capsule for launch as soon as possible. The China Manned Space Agency said in a statement, "The entire project team responded calmly and scientifically, with participating research and testing units working collaboratively to overcome challenges." The space agency termed the swift action a "successful example for efficient emergency response in the international space industry."

Astronauts Zhang Lu, Fu Wei, and Zhang Hongzhang are due to return to Earth on the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft next year. The damaged Shenzhou 20 vehicle will be examined during a spacewalk and will eventually return with only cargo.