Three Shenzhou-20 astronauts recall porthole cracks that delayed their return
發佈日期: 2026-02-16 20:59
TVB News
The three Shenzhou-20 astronauts, whose return to Earth was delayed, have spoken about their ordeal.
They were supposed to head home on November 5th last year, but were forced to postpone the return after discovering a crack in the capsule's porthole.
Commander Chen Dong and crewmates Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie safely returned to the Dongfeng Landing Site aboard the Shenzhou-21 manned spacecraft on November 14th last year.
They spent 204 days in space, breaking the record for the longest on-orbit stay by a Chinese astronaut crew.
According to the original plan, they were supposed to return on November 5th last year on Shenzhou-20.
But a minor crack appeared in one of the porthole windows, leading to a postponement for safety reasons.
They recently spoke to CCTV, recounting their experience.
It was Chen Dong who first discovered the crack while conducting a final inspection, likely made by space debris hitting the spacecraft.
I was the one who went to check it out, we do this with the naked eye, he said.
In the process of inspecting the craft, I noticed it on this porthole, something with a triangle.
Was it outside the glass? Was a small leaf stuck to it? I asked myself. But then I realised this is space, how can leaves fall here? I immediately realised something was wrong.
He then alerted Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, asking them to come over and check if there was a problem with the porthole.
Chen Zhongrui said his first reaction was also that it looked like leaves stuck to the outside.
Because glass has a certain thickness, it refracts and reflects light and you see something that is yellowish, he said. But if you look at it from another angle, it's different.
Wang Jie said he was unsure whether the porthole had cracks, but he did not feel nervous at all.
I was not nervous, he said, because the outermost layer is a protective layer, it has two pressure layers inside. As long as the pressure does not change, we are safe.
The three astronauts searched for equipment inside the Tiangong Space Station.
They found a magnifying glass and used a tablet and mobile phone to take pictures of the porthole.
Chen Dong said that using a pen-shaped device that could magnify objects 40 times allowed them to clearly see tiny cracks.
He said that he could not fully determine if the cracks were caused by an impact or deformation, so he transmitted the data to ground control for their opinion.
Chen Dong said two crews were aboard the space station at the time and they were all united in their efforts.
Despite their ordeal, the trio said they felt reluctant to leave and hope to one day return to space.
