Beijing — China launched the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft on Tuesday to help bring back a team of astronauts after a damaged spacecraft left them temporarily stranded on China's space station.

The Shenzhou 22 will be used sometime in 2026 by the three astronauts who docked on the Tiangong space station on Nov. 1.

The Long March-2F Y22 carrier rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-22 spaceship, blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Nov. 25, 2025 in northwest China. VCG / VCG via Getty Images

Earlier this month, another group of Chinese astronauts from the Shenzhou 20 mission faced a nine-day delay in their return to Earth after their craft's window was damaged. They eventually returned using the Shenzhou 21 spacecraft, which had just carried the replacement crew to Tiangong .

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