China sends emergency return vehicle to space station to replace damaged craft

China has launched a replacement ship that will travel to its space station as a substitute return vessel.

The uncrewed Shenzhou-22 spacecraft carrying 600kg (1,320 pounds) of goods, including food and equipment, was launched at 12.11pm on Tuesday and was expected to dock with the Tiangong space station autonomously.

The vessel will replace the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft used to return three astronauts to Earth on November 14.

They had to take the new spacecraft because tiny cracks were found in the porthole of their Shenzhou-20 spacecraft – damage that was likely to have been caused by space debris.

That meant it could not make a safe return to Earth, and the spacecraft will now remain in orbit where it will be used for research.

Any further mishap could pose a challenge to the current Tiangong crew’s safe return around April next year.