In their first public appearance since returning from orbit, the crew of China’s Shenzhou XX mission provided a detailed account of how they managed a critical emergency involving a damaged spacecraft window, attributing their successful response to exhaustive training and seamless coordination with ground control.
Mission Commander Senior Colonel Chen Dong and crew members Colonel Chen Zhongrui and Colonel Wang Jie addressed media at Beijing Aerospace City on January 16, 2026, nearly two months after their safe return from the Tiangong space station. Their homecoming, originally scheduled for November, was delayed when the crew discovered a triangular crack in their return capsule’s window during final pre-departure checks.
The damage, potentially caused by micro-meteoroid or space debris impact, prompted immediate consultation with Earth-based mission specialists. Commander Chen described how the crew quickly documented the damage with photographs while coordinating observations with the Shenzhou XXI mission crew already aboard the station.
‘Trust was paramount in that moment,’ Chen emphasized. ‘We maintained absolute confidence in our ground team, who exhausted every methodology to develop the safest possible return protocol. Equally, we trusted in our own capabilities as thoroughly trained astronauts prepared to address unexpected system failures.’
The mission headquarters ultimately determined the damaged capsule posed unacceptable re-entry risks, activating contingency procedures that saw the crew return aboard the Shenzhou XXI vehicle instead. Colonel Chen Zhongrui highlighted the psychological preparation behind their composed response: ‘We operated with complete assurance, knowing our nation’s robust space program and unified team supported us.’
Colonel Wang Jie, the mission’s spaceflight engineer, noted how his ground-based construction experience with the space station proved immediately applicable when addressing equipment anomalies in orbit. ‘The additional knowledge we accumulate and repetitions we perform on Earth enable our calm effectiveness during critical moments in space,’ he explained.
The incident represents one of the most significant in-flight emergencies publicly acknowledged by China’s space program, demonstrating evolving transparency in its rapidly advancing space operations.