BEIJING: 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.

Recent Shenzhou missions have been used to crew China`s Tiangong space station, exchanging teams of three astronauts every six months.

Shenzhou-22 was originally slated for acrewedlaunchin2026.But it was launched early after a suspected space debris strike to the Shenzhou-20 return capsule made it unsafe for re-entry to Earth, leaving its crew briefly stranded.

The Shenzhou-20 team returned aboard Shenzhou-21 on November 14 nine days later than planned leaving their relief crew without a reliable return vehicle.

The accelerated launch ensures Shenzhou-21 astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang have a safe return option.

The three were `working normally and in good condition`, the China Manned Space Agency said.-AFP