China will launch the unmanned Shenzhou-22 spacecraft on November 25, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Monday, a move that will help return the country's space station and manned flight programme to normality after a vessel was damaged in early November.

The Shenzhou-22 spacecraft is being sent to China's space station Tiangong to replace the Shenzhou-21, which was forced to return to Earth six months before schedule after another vessel docked at the station was damaged.

The early departure of the Shenzhou-21 left Tiangong and a trio of Chinese astronauts manning it without a flightworthy vessel for 10 days so far, an unprecedented situation for the space station since it fully began operations in late 2022.

With the Shenzhou-22 set to remove this risk, it remains to be seen how Chin

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