Shenzhou-23 doubles spacecraft cargo return capacity: chief commander

China's Shenzhou-23 mission marks the first crewed flight of a new spacecraft batch featuring a major upgrade that doubles the vehicle's cargo return payload, or downmass capacity, addressing a critical bottleneck in the nation's space station program, said the chief commander of the spaceship ahead of its launch later on Sunday.

The Shenzhou-23 is the second spacecraft of the new batch and its inaugural crewed mission. Compared to earlier spacecraft used during the initial space station construction phase, this new generation incorporates significant improvements targeting operational constraints.

"We have substantially enhanced the Shenzhou spacecraft's return payload transport capability. The previous functional specification was 50 kilograms. Now it exceeds 100 kilograms, and the payload volume is three times larger than before," said He Yu, Chief Commander for Manned Spacecraft at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

The increased payload volume refers to the available space for carrying items. He explained that the improvement in downmass capability stems from two key modifications: the miniaturization upgrade of the cabin's instrumentation system and the intensive reconfiguration of interior space layout. Together, these changes freed up weight and spatial resources, enabling the Shenzhou-23 to bring more scientific experiment payloads and other items back to the Earth upon its return.

"The upmass and downmass capabilities of the Shenzhou spacecraft, particularly the downmass capability, had previously been a bottleneck for the space station program, restricting the development of space applications. By breaking through this bottleneck and meeting the goal of sending up whatever should go up and bringing down whatever should come down, we can better support in-orbit applications of the space station," He said.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to lift off at 23:08 Beijing time (1508 GMT) on Sunday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Saturday.

Shenzhou-23 doubles spacecraft cargo return capacity: chief commander

Chinese spacecraft developers have accelerated development of the spacecraft for the country's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission by five months — moving its launch from the original schedule in October to late May — achieving greater efficiency without compromising safety or reliability.

According to He Yu, general commander of China's manned spacecraft project of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the accelerated development began shortly after the emergency launch readiness of the Shenzhou-22 last November.

"We have accelerated the development of the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft. It was originally planned for launch in late October, but has now been moved up to late May. In the six months since last November, we have gained five months of progress. This means the pace of work has been quickened by nearly one time," He said.

He further explained that a series of measures to ensure mission success have been adopted alongside the accelerated development, adding multiple layers of assurance.

"We have continued the proven measures that have ensured success in the past, which are fundamentally based on a sound product assurance system and strict process control. We have maintained high-quality assembly operations, continued to implement efficient and high-quality automated testing procedures, adopted a specialized flight control model, and maintained a full-process quality confirmation system to ensure reliability and safety of the product," He said.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 23:08 Beijing time (15:08 GMT) on Sunday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying will carry out the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission, and Zhu will be the commander, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Saturday.

Chinese engineers move Shenzhou-23 manned spacecraft mission forward by 5 months while ensuring safety