China was forced to postpone the return of three astronauts from its Tiangong space station following a suspected collision with space debris that appears to have struck the spacecraft they were supposed to return in.

As the New York Times reports, the China Manned Space Agency is still investigating the hair-raising incident.

“The Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft is suspected to have been struck by a small piece of orbital debris, and assessment of the impact and associated risks is currently under way,” the agency said in a statement.

The three affected crew members were part of the Shenzhou-20 mission, which launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northern China in April. They’ve spent six months on board the spacious Tiangong space station, currently the only other fully o

See Full Page