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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Helen Davidson in Taipei

Return of Chinese astronauts delayed after spacecraft struck by debris

 A Long March 2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft with astronauts Zhang Hongzhang, Zhang Lu, and Wu Fei blasts off to China's Tiangong space station
Three Chinese astronauts will remain at the space station after their spacecraft was apparently hit by debris Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

The return to Earth of three Chinese astronauts has been delayed until an unspecified date after their spacecraft was apparently struck by a small piece of debris, according to Chinese state media.

The three astronauts from the Shenzhou-20 mission flew to the Tiangong space station in April, and were expected to return on Wednesday at the end of a six month mission. Their replacements, the crew of Shenzhou-21, had already arrived on the weekend.

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