China Launches Uncrewed Replacement for Damaged Shenzhou-20

China launched an uncrewed Shenzhou-22 spacecraft this evening Eastern Standard Time to replace the damaged Shenzhou-20 attached to the Tiangong space station. The Shenzhou-20 crew returned to Earth in Shenzou-21’s spacecraft leaving that three-man crew aboard the space station without a safe haven or a way to come home until this new capsule arrives. Shenzhou-20’s spacecraft apparently was damaged by space debris.  [UPDATE — It docked 3.5 hours after launch on November 25, 2025.]

As usual, China has provided little information about their plans, but experts who closely follow the Chinese space program were expecting the launch at about 11:10 pm EST (November 25, 04:10 UTC) based on airspace closure notices for the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert. China’s Xinhua news agency finally confirmed the launch date this morning, albeit without specifying the time. The actual launch time was November 25 12:11:42 pm Beijing Time/04:11:42 UTC/November 24, 11:11:42 pm EST).

China has been rotating crews on the Tiangong space station about every six months, similar to the crew rotations on the International Space Station over the past 25 years. Shenzhou-20 launched in April 2025 with their return planned for November 5. Shenzhou-21 launched on October 31 to replace them. Shenzhou-22 would have launched the next crew in the spring of 2026.

The three-man Shenzhou-21 crew is composed of Commander Zhang Lu, flight engineer Wu Fei, and payload specialist Zhang Hongzhang.

Plans changed on November 4, however, when the Shenzhou-20 crew was preparing for departure the next day and tiny cracks were observed in their spacecraft’s “viewport window.” China has not shared how it was discovered, but said they suspected impact from space debris. After a few days of determining next steps, China brought the Shenzhou-20 crew down on November 14 in Shenzhou-21’s spacecraft. Shenzhou-20 commander Chen Dong was the first out of the capsule, quickly followed by Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie.

The damaged Shenzhou-20 remains attached to the space station.  It’s not clear if they will bring it back to Earth for study or dispose of it in the ocean.

Russia faced a similar situation three years ago when their Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft suddenly lost all of its coolant into space. Russia launched an empty replacement, Soyuz MS-23. Soyuz MS-22 made an uncrewed landing on Earth so Russia could study it to determine the cause. The Soyuz MS-22/Soyuz MS-23 crew, including NASA’s Frank Rubio, ended up staying on the ISS for a year to maintain the regular cadence of Soyuz launches.

Space debris — old satellites, rocket stages, or fragments thereof — is a growing problem, especially in low Earth orbit where the ISS and Tiangong operate. Tiny remnants of asteroids called micrometeoroids are another hazard. The term MMOD — Micrometeoroids and Orbital Debris — is used to refer to both. Even a fleck of paint flying at orbital velocity of 17,500 miles per hour can cause significant damage.

Russia’s investigation of the Soyuz MS-22 incident concluded a micrometeoroid hit was the likely cause. Russia’s Progress MS-21 cargo spacecraft also was struck by MMOD while docked at the ISS in February 2023. Progress spacecraft don’t carry people and are not designed to survive reentry, so it couldn’t be studied afterwards to narrow down the cause.

Shenzhou-22 should dock at Tiangong in the next several hours. [UPDATE — It docked 3.5 hours later on November 25 at 3:50 pm Beijing Time/7:50 am UTC/2:50 am EST.]

China Global Televison Network’s (CGTN’s) Wu Lei posted the mission’s logo on X, explaining that the blue, red and orange colors represent “rapid emergency response.”

Look at this beautiful Shenzhou-22 mission patch!

🔹 The Great Wall base=unwavering commitment to astronaut safety

🔹 Arrow + Long March 2F rocket & Shenzhou spacecraft = “ready to launch, mission assured”

🔹 22 arrows

Blue & Red & Orange = rapid emergency response. pic.twitter.com/N15M0d8u0q

— Wu Lei (@wulei2020) November 24, 2025

This article has been updated.