China's Shenzhou-20 crew returns to Earth
(ECNS) -- The return capsule of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship, carrying the Shenzhou-20 crew, landed safely at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday.
The three astronauts -- Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie -- completed their space mission and are in good health.
The previous report stated that the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft does not meet the requirements for the astronauts' return because tiny cracks have been found in a viewport window of its return capsule, most probably caused by the external impact from space debris.
The Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship undocked from the space station combination at 11:14 a.m.(Beijing Time).
At 2:49 p.m., the Beijing Aerospace Control Center issued a return command through the ground station, and the orbital capsule of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship separated from the return capsule.
They had spent 204 days in orbit, setting a new record for the longest in-orbit stay among Chinese astronaut crews, the CMSA said
(Updated)
