Shenzhou-23 Crew Photos Pre-launch | China Space Station

Shenzhou-23 Crew Photos Pre-launch | China Space Station

From left to right: Shenzhou-23 astronauts Li Jiaying (payload specialist), Zhang Zhiyuan (Pilot) and Zhu Yangzhu (commander and flight engineer)

Before liftoff, China held a send-off ceremony for the three astronauts of the Shenzhou-23 crewed space mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in northwest China on Sunday, May 24, 2026.

Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Li Jiaying will carry out the mission, with Zhu as commander. Li Jiaying, also known as Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, is the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR).

China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft successfully blasted off atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT).

In another notable first, one of the crew members is set to undertake a year-long stay aboard the space station, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft will perform a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of the space station core module Tianhe, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's crewed spaceflight program and the seventh crewed flight mission since the Tiangong Space Station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.

Shenzhou-23 Crew
Zhu Yangzhu 朱杨柱, Commander & Flight Engineer (2nd spaceflight)
Zhang Zhiyuan 张志远, Pilot (first spaceflight)

Li Jiaying 黎家盈, Payload Specialist (first spaceflight) [Hong Kong SAR]

Image Credit: CMSA
Date: May 24, 2026

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