China launched an emergency rocket to its Tiangong Space Station on Tuesday after three astronauts spent 11 days without a ride home if something had gone wrong on the station. There’s normally a vehicle docked with the station to allow occupants to escape if necessary, but that ship had a cracked window, likely caused by space debris, and couldn’t be used. So on Tuesday the agency launched its only useable spacecraft, the Shenzhou-22, to dock with the station and provide a lifeboat to the occupants of the station. “This emergency launch is a first for China, but I hope it will be the last in humanity’s journey through space,” CMSA official He Yuanjun told CCTV.
Having a backup at the launch site is part of the normal protocol for China’s space program and because it launched without a crew, there was room for some treats for the space station astronauts. Fresh fruit and vegetables, chicken wings, steak, and cake that can be cooked in an oven on the station were part of the payload. The ship was also packing a new window and all the supplies and tools needed to install it. After it’s repaired, the damaged ship will return to Earth without passengers and the spacecraft that just arrived at the station will be used to take the current space station crew home next April.
Is anyone surprised that they have got this covered and contingencies planned for?
Well then, they were able to launch a rescue ship in weeks, meanwhile the USA in massive disfunction left two astronauts in space for months. Maybe there is some value in NOT letting contractors to fall behind and overbudget…..Boeing.
The value is in having more than one vendor who is “too big to fail”…regardless of what you think of the egos involved, it’s not a bad thing to have vendors jockeying for business with real consequences if they fail to perform.
So you’re saying Uber Eats has reached space! What next?
There is also value in a socialized space program that operates to achieve goals rather than generate profits.
The PRC had no choice. Their station crew went 11 days without so Beijing launched an emergency lifeboat. This was China avoiding a preventable disaster and the embarrassment that would come with it. They are coming!
You’re right Raf. They are coming and fast. If this mission had failed there would be a whole number of plausible reasons in the media as to what happened and why. We can speculate about the veracity of media reports until we fall asleep but the fact remains that this worked and astronauts are safe. Not bad! Maybe we should swap the Starliner capsule for some of their orbital cooking technology!
I spent a few years working with the Chinese on the design of the 5th tallest building in the world (at that time). When it came to life safety, they wanted to use our latest technology and did. But they also created a completely separate safety system that took up a huge amount of expensive floor space. It was a costly belt-and-suspenders approach that seemed excessive, but they were adamant about safety. That perspective surprised us because we thought we knew high-rise safety better than anyone. Looking back, I think they were the smart ones.
The proverbial “Actions speaks louder than words” shows the heart of China’s space program. Contingencies planned for, solution in place on time. Tools, even a replacement windshield plus the thoughtful bonus of extra food lightening up a stressfull situation, included with unmanned spacecraft for the return trip. Kudo’s for a well executed back up plan.
In a nutshell:
Shenzhou-20 lost flightworthiness and won’t be used for crew return.
Shenzhou-21 brought the new crew up and took the old crew home.
Shenzhou-22 launched empty to put a flightworthy return ship back on the station, and that’s now the crew’s ride home.
Shenzhou-20 will either be scraped in orbit or brought down empty.