China has carried out an emergency space launch to provide a safe return vessel for three astronauts aboard the Tiangong space station after their original capsule was rendered unusable.
State broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday broadcast the launch of a Long March-2F rocket carrying the uncrewed Shenzhou-22 spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre shortly after noon local time (04:00 GMT).
The Shenzhou-22 mission, initially slated as a crewed flight for 2026, was fast-tracked after debris struck and damaged the Shenzhou-20 return craft currently docked at Tiangong, making it unsafe for human re-entry. The incident disrupted November’s planned crew rotation.
As a result, the three taikonauts who arrived in April used the Shenzhou-21 capsule to return to Earth, leaving Tiangong’s current crew without a functioning escape or return vehicle in the event of an emergency.
The newly launched uncrewed Shenzhou-22 will now serve as the station’s emergency lifeboat.
Officials said the astronauts on board — Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang — remain “in normal working condition.”
The setback is unusual for China’s fast-expanding space programme, which has ambitious plans, including its first crewed lunar landing by 2030. Over recent decades, Beijing has invested heavily in space exploration as it seeks to join the ranks of major space powers.
China became the third nation to independently send humans into orbit in 2003, following the United States and the former Soviet Union.
