PREVIEW — Bob Zimmerman — China's Non-Transparent Space Program Leaves Astronauts Stranded After Capsule Damage. Zimmerman outlines the opaque nature of the Chinese space program, which publicly reports only successes and shields setbacks. Recently, damage to the Shenzhou 20 capsule—possibly caused by space debris—rendered the spacecraft unusable, leaving the crew stranded without a functional lifeboat, an unprecedented occurrence in crewed spaceflight history. China rapidly launched a rescue mission using Shenzhou 22, yet the government's refusal to transparently disclose root causes and technical failure details raises serious questions about program integrity and safety protocols.
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