posted 05-24-2026 10:21 AM               

China launches Shenzhou 23 crew with first taikonaut from Hong Kong

China's first taikonaut to come from Hong Kong and its first yearlong expedition member are part of the three-person crew now in space.

Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying launched on the China Manned Space Agency's (CMSA) Shenzhou 23 spacecraft to the country's Tiangong space station on Sunday (May 24). The three taikonauts' ride into orbit, a Long March-2F carrier rocket, lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 11:08 p.m. Beijing Time (11:08 a.m. EDT or 1508 GMT).

posted 05-25-2026 07:07 AM               

Shenzhou 23 docks, crew enters Tiangong station

China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship successfully docked with the Tiangong space station on Monday (May 25) at 2:45 a.m. Beijing Time (2:45 p.m. EDT or 1845 GMT on May 24), according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The spaceship made a fast, automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of Tiangong's core module Tianhe. The whole docking process took approximately three and a half hours, said the CMSA.

The Shenzhou-21 crew aboard Tiangong opened the hatch at 5:13 a.m. Beijing Time and welcomed the new arrivals. The two crews took group pictures for the eighth space get-together in China's aerospace history.

They will conduct handover work aboard the space station, the CMSA said.