Space Debris Threatens China's Shenzhou-20 Return Mission

China's Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft has postponed its return journey to Earth following a potential impact by space debris, China's human spaceflight agency announced. The situation presents a unique risk that may affect operations at China's Tiangong Space Station.

The prevalence of space debris poses an increasing threat to space missions. Known as space junk, this debris includes discarded spacecraft components floating in space, risking collisions with active satellites. The Shenzhou program regularly transports Chinese astronauts to Tiangong for six-month assignments, where collision damage repairs are part of their duties.

This incident is unprecedented as previous delays, such as the Shenzhou-19 return mission affected by weather, were unrelated to debris. If Shenzhou-20 cannot be repaired at Tiangong, contingencies are in place, including using Shenzhou-21 for crew return or deploying a backup craft from Jiuquan. This underscores the urgent need for global cooperation to effectively manage space traffic.