BEIJING: China launched a spacecraft on Tuesday to its space outpost ahead of schedule, and without a crew, due to damage to another craft believed to have been caused by orbital debris, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
The Long March-2F carrier rocket lifted off at around 12 pm (0400 GMT) from the Jiuquan spaceport in the Gobi Desert in northwestern China with the unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou (Divine Vessel) 22, according to the manned spaceflight authority in Beijing.
The spacecraft, carrying food and spare parts, is scheduled to dock with the Chinese space station Tiangong (Heavenly Palace), currently occupied by the three-member crew of the Shenzhou 21 mission – made up of Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang.
The Shenzhou 21 crew had to give up their own craft to their predecessors when they arrived at the space outpost at the end of October, so they could make their way back to Earth, after a crack was discovered on the Shenzhou 20 craft’s window.
Chinese space experts believe the damage was caused by a collision with small pieces of space debris. This is the first incident of this kind in the history of Tiangong.
The launch of Shenzhou 22, originally planned for April 2026, was brought forward to provide the Shenzhou 21 crew with a safe spacecraft for their return to Earth. The crew is set to remain in space for six months. – BERNAMA-dpa
