Three Chinese astronauts whose return to Earth was delayed by space debris hitting their vessel last week are set to return to their landing site using a different spacecraft, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said in a statement.

China has in the past four years sent trios of astronauts to its permanently inhabited Tiangong space station for six-month stays, a program known as Shenzhou, or "Divine Vessel".

The Shenzhou-20 mission began in April and went smoothly until what CMSA called a "suspected impact from tiny space debris" to the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft forced a postponement of the crew's return to Earth, originally scheduled for November 5.

The return is scheduled for Friday.

The delay, while short, is highly unusual for a program that has run like clockwork and in the past ye

See Full Page