Send-off ceremony held for Shenzhou-23 astronauts before launch

A send-off ceremony for three Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission was held on Sunday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to blast off at 23:08 Beijing Time Sunday (15:08 GMT) from the launch site to dock with China's Tiangong space station.

The three Chinese astronauts, commander Zhu Yangzhu, spacecraft pilot Zhang Zhiyuan and payload specialist Lai Ka-ying, reported to the commander-in-chief of China's manned space program that they were ready to undertake their mission.

After receiving an order from the commander-in-chief, the astronauts boarded a vehicle and departed for the launch site amid cheers from a crowd of well-wishers.

The three astronauts will take over command of China's Tiangong space station from the Shenzhou-21 crew currently in orbit, and one of them will conduct a one-year in-orbit stay, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

Notably, astronaut Lai Ka-ying is also the first astronaut from China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

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

Send-off ceremony held for Shenzhou-23 astronauts before launch

Send-off ceremony held for Shenzhou-23 astronauts before launch

Send-off ceremony held for Shenzhou-23 astronauts before launch

Send-off ceremony held for Shenzhou-23 astronauts before launch

China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country's northwest on Sunday, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station.

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, lifted off from the launch site at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT).

The crew members consist of mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, who is also the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

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 spaceship 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 manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.

China launches Shenzhou-23 manned spaceship