Astronauts of China's Shenzhou-23 mission meet press

Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, for the upcoming Shenzhou-23 spaceflight mission, met the press on Saturday.

Zhu will be the commander and flight engineer, Zhang will be the spacecraft pilot, and Lai the payload specialist.

Zhu previously participated in the Shenzhou-16 space mission. Zhang and Lai come from the third and fourth batches of astronauts respectively, and will embark on their first spaceflight mission. Before being selected, Zhang was an air force pilot, and Lai worked in the Hong Kong Police Force.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 23:08 Sunday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference earlier on Saturday.

Astronauts of China's Shenzhou-23 mission meet press

Astronauts of China's Shenzhou-23 mission meet press

Loading of propellant into the Long March 2F Y23 carrier rocket for China's upcoming Shenzhou-23 crewed mission began on Saturday at the launch site of northwest China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

Fuel loading is currently underway and is expected to be completed at 13:00.

Subsequently, oxidizer filling will follow, with all loading operations expected to conclude at 17:00.

The Shenzhou-23 spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 23:08 Sunday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Saturday.

Shenzhou-23 is the seventh crewed mission during the application and development stage of China's space station, and the 40th flight mission of the country's manned space program.

Rocket propellant loading begins for Shenzhou-23 mission