Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Chen Dong, commander of the Shenzhou-20 crew.
Image credit: China Media Group/China Central Television/Inside Outer Space screengrab

The crew of China’s Shenzhou-20 mission has shared details regarding that space debris-created window crack on their return craft.

Originally slated to return to Earth last November 5, the crew’s landing was postponed. The taikonuat trio used an alternative spacecraft to get back to the Earth safely.

Last week, in a detailed interview with China Media Group, Shenzhou-20 crew members elaborated on how they discovered the crack on the viewport one day before their planned return.

Emergency launch

Billed as the first emergency launch mission in China’s human spaceflight program, an uncrewed, cargo-loaded Shenzhou-22 spaceship was launched on November 25.

Uncrewed Shenzhou-22 loaded with supplies.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Shenzhou-22 docked with the front port of China’s Tiangong space station’s Tianhe core module.

Flying without a three-person crew aboard, the vessel carried a cargo of space food, medical supplies, fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as devices for treating the cracked window on the Shenzhou-20 spaceship.

Shenzhou-21 on-orbit crew monitors emergency Shenzhou-22 launch.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Naked eye finding

Chen Dong, commander of the crew, said he noticed the damage while conducting final checks on the return capsule.

“I was the one who went for the checks. I was through the capsule with the naked eye, when I spotted something like a triangular on the viewport,” Chen said. “My first thought was whether a small leaf had somehow stuck to the outside of the window. But then I quickly realized that couldn’t happen because we were in space. How could there possibly be a fallen leaf there?”

Chen pointed out the anomaly to his other two crew members, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie.

Image credit: China Media Group/China Central Television/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Ground team support

“I wasn’t really nervous, actually,” said Wang. “The outermost layer of the viewport is a protective layer, and inside it there are two pressure-bearing layers, and we are safe as long as the cabin pressure doesn’t change.”

Wang added that he knew the mission’s ground team would go through analysis and experiments to determine whether the crew could return safely and whether the crack affected the space traveler’s safety before making a final conclusion.

“So I wasn’t too worried,” said Wang.

Ground team experts discuss Shenzhou-20 cracked window.
Image credit: China Media Group/China Central Television/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Cracked window inspection tools

To determine exactly what was on the viewport, the crew used every piece of equipment available inside the space station to photograph and document the abnormal find on the viewport.

Tools used included a work pad, a work phone and a magnifying glass, finally confirming the crack by use of a 40-times microscope.

“It was a pen-shaped microscope. One end is the lens, connecting to a tablet — the device we use to inspect the extravehicular suits, especially to check whether there is any damage in the sealed areas,” said Chen, the Shenzhou-20 commander.

“We could see very clearly the small cracks [with the microscope]. Several were relatively long, and one was shorter, added Chen. “We could also see that some of the cracks had penetrated through.”

Incoming Shenzhou-20 capsule.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Astronaut-empty return capsule

The crew returned to Earth in a Shenzhou-21 craft while the damaged Shenzhou-20 return craft remained attached to the Chinese space station, all-in-all, spending a total of 270 days in orbit.

China’s first emergency operation in its human spaceflight program came to an end when the astronaut-empty Shenzhou-20 return capsule parachuted into the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on January 19.

Damaged goods. Recovery crews inspect astronaut-empty Shenzhou-20 capsule.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

The debris-hit capsule safely survived the re-entry process.

Go to the China Media Group/CCTV video at:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1570764594032409

Also, go to my Space.com story – “Chinese capsule damaged by space-junk strike returns to Earth (video)” – at:

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/human-spaceflight/chinese-capsule-damaged-by-space-junk-strike-returns-to-earth-video

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