Disaster! Chinese Astronauts Stuck on Space Station after Serious Problem. SpaceX To RESCUE!?

Disaster! Chinese Astronauts Stuck on Space Station after Serious Problem. SpaceX To RESCUE!?
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Disaster! Chinese Astronauts Stuck on Space Station after Serious Problem. SpaceX To RESCUE!?
This is a disaster! China’s Shenzhou spacecraft, currently docked at the Tiangong space station, has been struck by space debris, sustaining major damage. The crew could now be stranded for months, maybe even up to a year, just trying to assess the situation. Things are so serious that SpaceX’s Dragon capsule is already being mentioned as the safest option to bring them home, just like the rescue of Suni and Butch earlier this year.
So how did this happen, and could SpaceX really rescue them?
Let’s find out in today’s episode of Alpha Tech.
Disaster! Chinese Astronauts Stuck on Space Station after Serious Problem. SpaceX To RESCUE!?
At the end of April, China launched a three-person crew on the Shenzhou 20 mission to the Tiangong space station. They’d been up there for over six months, and it was finally time to wrap up their long journey and head home. So, at the end of October, China sent up a new crew aboard Shenzhou 21, which successfully docked with Tiangong on October 31.
A few days later, after handing over duties to the new team, the six astronauts celebrated together with a roast chicken cooked in the station’s first-ever space oven, a moment of joy and laughter for all of them. On the morning of the 4th, they officially handed over command, and by the 5th, the three Shenzhou 20 astronauts boarded their spacecraft to prepare for the return trip.
Disaster! Chinese Astronauts Stuck on Space Station after Serious Problem. SpaceX To RESCUE!?
That’s when ground control detected some unusual data from the system. Suspecting a collision with space debris, Beijing’s control center issued an EMERGENCY ORDER: “STOP! OPEN THE HATCH! RETURN TO THE STATION!” The crew had to turn back, but luckily, everyone remained safe.
Investigations later confirmed that the culprit was indeed space debris, likely from a defunct satellite. The irony? Just a month earlier, the same crew had spent hours outside the station on a spacewalk, installing a debris protection system. And yet, it wasn’t the station that got hit, it was their own spacecraft.
On November 11, CMSA released a summary of the crew’s status, stating: “After the Shenzhou-20 manned spacecraft’s return mission was postponed, the project team, adhering to the principle that ‘human life and safety come first,’ immediately activated emergency plans and measures.” They added that “all ongoing work is progressing steadily and orderly according to plan.”
However, the statement didn’t reveal exactly what went wrong or where the problem was, perhaps an attempt to protect their reputation.
Faced with this situation, the Shenzhou 20 crew would have to stay on the station. It wasn’t clear for how long, but for now, this would disrupt the schedule, since both crews had to remain onboard together. With six astronauts instead of the usual three, the consumption of oxygen, water, and food would naturally rise, and if this lasted for months, it could become a serious problem.
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