China has launched a replacement ship that will travel to its space station as a substitute return vessel.
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The uncrewed Shenzhou-22 spacecraft carrying 600kg (1,320 pounds) of goods, including food and equipment, was launched at 12.11pm on Tuesday and was expected to dock with the Tiangong space station autonomously.
That meant it could not make a safe return to Earth, and the spacecraft will now remain in orbit where it will be used for research.
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Any further mishap could pose a challenge to the current Tiangong crew’s safe return around April next year.
