Three astronauts return after spacecraft hit by space debris

Three Chinese astronauts, who aborted their departure home after their spacecraft was hit by debris, returned to earth safely Friday.

The return capsule of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship, carrying the astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.

They were scheduled to return November 5, but their journey was postponed at the last minute after “small” space debris hit the station, according to CMSA.

Official media earlier reported that the crew was unable to return on their own spacecraft after tiny cracks were found in the porthole of the Shenzhou-20’s return capsule – damage that was likely caused by the debris impact.

The incident, the first since th