China launches Shenzhou-22 early for stranded space station crew

Beijing (AFP) Nov 25, 2025

China conducted an urgent unmanned spacecraft launch on Tuesday, after damage to a previous mission’s return capsule left the crew on its space station without a means of getting back to Earth.

The Long March-2F rocket carrying Shenzhou-22 lifted off shortly after midday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China, footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed.