China completes first emergency mission to Tiangong space station

China’s first emergency space launch went ahead without incident on Tuesday, as the country plugged safety risks at its crewed space station after a vessel was damaged in orbit earlier this month.

The unmanned Shenzhou-22 spacecraft lifted off on a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 12:11 p.m. (0411 GMT), according to China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

“The spacecraft successfully separated from the rocket and entered its planned orbit. The launch mission was a complete success,” CMSA said in a statement published on its official WeChat account.

Video shared by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed the rocket blazing into space, with Earth visible in the background as the vessel entered orbit.

The spacecraft travelled to China’s permanently inhabited Tiangong space station, docking at 3:50 p.m. (0750 GMT), according to CCTV.

SPARE PARTS AND GROCERIES

The Shenzhou-20 vessel was meant to return a trio of Chinese astronauts back to Earth on November 5, but was deemed unfit to fly after the window of its return capsule was cracked by what CMSA suspects was impact from space debris.

The incident forced China’s space authorities on November 14 to deploy the only remaining flightworthy vessel, the Shenzhou-21, which had arrived at the space station in late October, bringing a new trio of astronauts.

With the departure of Shenzhou-21 six months before schedule, the crew on Tiangong was left without a flightworthy spacecraft for 11 days, a safety risk the arrival of Shenzhou-22 has removed.

“This emergency launch is a first for China, but I hope it will be the last in humanity’s journey through space,” CMSA official He Yuanjun told CCTV.

Shenzhou-22 departed with medical supplies, spare parts for Tiangong, and equipment to repair the window crack on Shenzhou-20, which remains docked at the space station.

Other supplies included fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as chicken wings, steak, and cake that the astronauts can cook using a “space oven” installed in Tiangong.

The spacecraft will remain docked until around April 2026, when it will be used to transport the crew of the Shenzhou-21 back to Earth, according to CMSA.

SPEEDY DEPLOYMENT

Since 2021, China’s Shenzhou missions have sent trios of astronauts to Tiangong for six-month stays. Chinese safety protocols have always required a backup carrier rocket and Shenzhou spacecraft to be on standby at all times.

With the Shenzhou-22 vessel and its carrier rocket already stationed at the Jiuquan launch centre, it only took 16 days for China’s space authorities to execute the emergency launch procedure, according to CMSA’s He. The usual launch timeline for a Shenzhou mission is around 45 days.

Last year, two NASA astronauts who were supposed to stay a week on the International Space Station were stuck on board for nine months because of a propulsion fault in the Boeing Starliner craft they were testing. After a series of delays, they eventually returned to Earth in March in a SpaceX capsule.

The U.S. and China are closely studying each other’s operational protocols and space technologies as they race to land an astronaut on the moon before or by 2030.