New Delhi, Nov. 25 -- After NASA astronaut Sunita Williams' Starliner space saga kept many in suspense for months, three Chinese astronauts - part of Shenzhou-21 crew - have now been stranded in space. To rescue them, Beijing launched an empty Shenzhou-22 spaceship to the Tiangong space station on Tuesday.

The China Manned Space Agency (CMS) announced on Monday that China will launch the Shenzhou-22 mission - "the first-ever emergency launch" - on Tuesday (November 25) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre to the Tiangong space station.

"At 12:11 BJT, a Long March-2F rocket lifted off from Jiuquan carrying the uncrewed Shenzhou XXII spacecraft," the Chinese Space Station posted on X. The Shenzhou XXII spacecraft was sent to space "wi...