Damaged Shenzhou-20 spacecraft to return to Earth uncrewed for inspection
Damaged Shenzhou-20 spacecraft to return to Earth uncrewed for inspection
By Eduardo Baptista
BEIJING, Dec 1 (Reuters) – China’s first crewed spacecraft to be ruled unfit to fly in mid-mission will be sent back to Earth for experts to assess the damage it sustained more closely, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Monday.
On November 5, the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft was meant to bring its crew back to China just after finishing a six-month stay aboard Beijing’s permanently inhabited space station Tiangong.
But after the Shenzhou-20 crew discovered a crack in the window of the vessel’s return capsule right before takeoff, the return mission was delayed – a first in China’s human spaceflight program.
The vessel’s crew was forced to return to Earth in a different spaceship nine days later, temporarily leaving Tiangong and its remaining trio of resident astronauts without a flightworthy vessel.
China’s space-industrial complex raced to remove that risk by working overtime to execute its first emergency launch mission on November 25, just 20 days after the initial delay was announced.
But the future of the damaged Shenzhou-20 vessel, which remains docked at the Chinese space station, was unknown until CCTV’s televised report on Monday.
Ji Qiming, a spokesperson for the China Manned Space Agency, told the state broadcaster that Shenzhou-20 would return without crew to Earth, adding that on its way back it would “obtain the most authentic experimental data”, without elaborating further.
Jia Shijin, a designer of the Shenzhou spacecraft, revealed to CCTV more details about the tiny crack that permanently altered China’s crewed spaceflight schedule.
“Our preliminary judgement is that the piece of space debris was smaller than 1 millimetre, but it was travelling incredibly fast. The resulting crack extends over a centimetre,” Jia said.
“But we can’t directly examine it in orbit, we will study it closely when Shenzhou-20 returns.”
Jia added that the decision to delay the Shenzhou-20 return mission was based on a worst-case scenario where the window crack might spread, leading to cabin depressurisation and the ingress of high-speed gases.
If this happened, it could then rapidly overwhelm life-support systems and prove fatal to the astronauts.
(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista; editinjg by Mark Heinrich)
San Jose police on Monday announced an arrest following the triple shooting at Valley Fair Mall on the day after Thanksgiving.
KTVU
The corrections officer testified about his experience with Mangione during a pre-trial hearing on Monday, Dec. 1
People
Online commentators mocked the new crop of Pentagon reporters for being unable to accurately report which desks they were using
The Independent
Toyota’s Camry sedans are known for being comfortable, safe, and reliable. But how much of that praise reflects in a 2020 model’s depreciation after five years?
Jalopnik
Rep. Scott Fitzgerald told Fox Business Network Monday that he anticipates Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro could step down as early as this week.
Mediaite
Since last week’s shooting of two National Guard members in the nation’s capital by a suspect who is an Afghan national, the Trump administration announced a flurry of policies aimed at making it harder for some foreigners to enter or stay in the country. The administration said it was pausing asylum decisions, reexamining green card applications for people from countries “of concern” and halting visas for Afghans who assisted the U.S. war effort. Days before the shooting, a memo obtained by The Associated Press said the administration would review the cases of all refugees who entered the U.S. during the Biden administration.
Associated Press
Putin has repeatedly falsely claimed to capture Ukrainian cities prematurely.
ABC News
China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC), the world’s largest shipbuilding conglomerate controlling one-third of the global market, has pledged to build more cruise ships, deep-ocean drilling ships and nuclear-powered vessels as part of efforts to diversify its portfolio, according to a senior executive. Assistant president Ma Yunxiang said on Monday the company’s growing strength in building advanced vessels was reflected in the construction of Adora Flora City, mainland China’s second self-built
South China Morning Post
ASML wins top-pick status as AI drives demand, but its premium value leaves little room for mistakes.
Barchart
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) dismissed concerns about the legality of U.S. strikes on alleged “narco-terrorists” in the Caribbean and East Pacific. “These individuals don’t care about the lives of our friends and families,” Mullin told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Why do we care if we take them out in international…
The HillPowered by WPeMatico