Chinese astronauts return from space station after delay blamed on space debris damage

BEIJING (AP) — Three Chinese astronauts returned from their nation's space station Friday after more than a week's delay because the return capsule they had planned to use was damaged, likely from being hit by space debris.

The team left their Shenzhou-20 spacecraft in orbit and came back using the recently arrived Shenzhou-21, which had ferried a three-person replacement crew to the station, China’s Manned Space Agency said.