Key points: The Shenzhou 21 crew, which arrived at Tiangong on Oct. 31 for a six-month mission, is temporarily without a docked return vehicle after a Nov. 13 departure left the station with a different crew because the Shenzhou 20 capsule was damaged by orbital debris. China keeps a Long March 2F and a Shenzhou spacecraft on standby and says Shenzhou 22 will be sent, likely uncrewed; a replacement lifeboat could reach Tiangong in roughly 8.5 days. The situation is temporary but increases short-term risk for the crew; the mission is led by commander Zhang Lu and includes two rookies, Zhang Hongzhang and Wu Fei.
Shenzhou 21 Crew Temporarily Left Without Lifeboat Aboard Tiangong
Key points: The Shenzhou 21 crew, which arrived at Tiangong on Oct. 31 for a six-month mission, is temporarily without a docked return vehicle after a Nov. 13 departure left the station with a different crew because the Shenzhou 20 capsule was damaged by orbital debris. China keeps a Long March 2F and a Shenzhou spacecraft on standby and says Shenzhou 22 will be sent, likely uncrewed; a replacement lifeboat could reach Tiangong in roughly 8.5 days. The situation is temporary but increases short-term risk for the crew; the mission is led by commander Zhang Lu and includes two rookies, Zhang Hongzhang and Wu Fei.
10:14 AM, 11/15/2025Science
Shenzhou 21 astronauts temporarily without a docked return vehicle
If an emergency occurs aboard China’s Tiangong space station in the coming days, the three members of the Shenzhou 21 mission would face elevated risk because their designated return vehicle is no longer docked to the station.
The Shenzhou 21 crew arrived at Tiangong on Oct. 31 for a planned six-month mission. On the night of Nov. 13, the spacecraft that departed the station carried a different crew — the team from the earlier Shenzhou 20 mission — after the Shenzhou 20 capsule was judged unsafe for crewed reentry following a strike by orbital debris. That sequence of events has left the Shenzhou 21 astronauts aboard Tiangong without an immediately available, crew-certified lifeboat.
Contingency measures and timeline
China routinely keeps a Long March 2F rocket and a Shenzhou spacecraft in a state of near readiness at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center during crewed flights. According to reporting by SpaceNews, that standby vehicle can be prepared and launched to the station in as little as 8.5 days if required. Chinese authorities have said Shenzhou 22 will be sent to Tiangong, likely uncrewed, though they have given no firm launch date beyond stating it will occur "at an appropriate time in the future." Given the obvious risk, a prompt replacement launch would be expected.
How this compares to past incidents
The episode recalls NASA's 2024 experience with the Boeing Starliner: astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams rode Starliner to the International Space Station in June 2024, but problems on ascent led NASA to return that capsule uncrewed. Wilmore and Williams extended their stay aboard the ISS until March 2025 and eventually returned on a SpaceX Crew Dragon. A key difference is that the ISS typically has multiple docked, crew-capable vehicles that can serve as emergency return craft; Tiangong currently does not.
State media Xinhua quoted the China Manned Space Agency: 'The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft does not meet the requirements for the astronauts' safe return and will remain in orbit to continue relevant experiments.'
Mission details and status
Shenzhou 21 is the tenth crewed mission to the Tiangong station, a three-module complex with roughly 20% of the mass of the International Space Station. The crew is led by commander Zhang Lu, 48, a veteran who previously flew on Shenzhou 15 in 2022, and includes two first-time flyers, Zhang Hongzhang and Wu Fei; Wu is the youngest member of China's astronaut corps.
Authorities characterize the situation as temporary and manageable thanks to standby vehicles and established contingency procedures. Nonetheless, every day spent in orbit without a readily available lifeboat increases risk, so a replacement lifeboat launch is likely to be prioritized.