(251125) -- JIUQUAN, Nov. 25, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Staff members inspect equipment status at a fire station at the launch site on Nov. 13, 2025. China on Tuesday launched the Shenzhou-22 spaceship to provide a return vessel for the three Shenzhou-21 astronauts in orbit. This momentous occasion marked the accomplishment of the first emergency launch mission in the country's manned space program.

The launch of the new spaceship followed the return of the three Shenzhou-20 astronauts back to Earth on Nov. 14 by the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft.

The return mission, initially scheduled for Nov. 5 by the Shenzhou-20 spaceship, was delayed due to a suspected debris impact on the Shenzhou-20 return capsule's viewport window.

The Long March-2F Y22 rocket and the Shenzhou-22 spaceship -- already on standby at the launch site upon the contingency -- were swiftly prepared for launch.

After the initiation of the contingency plan, all teams involved in the project demonstrated a composed and methodical approach.

Within 20 days, all participating research and testing units collaborated and completed a series of critical tasks, including risk assessment, solution analysis and decision-making, personnel and material deployment, crew return aboard a replacement vessel, as well as an emergency launch, offering a world-class example of managing an in-orbit emergency, the China Manned Space Agency said.

The success of this mission fully demonstrated the strengths of China's new system for mobilizing resources nationwide, it noted. (Photo by Yang Junjie/Xinhua)