At 23:08 Beijing time on May 24, the Long March 2F Y23 carrier rocket carrying the Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. About 10 minutes later, the spacecraft separated from the rocket and entered its preset orbit. The astronaut crew is in good condition, and the launch was a complete success.
The crew consists of Commander and Flight Engineer Zhu Yangzhu, space pilot Zhang Zhiyuan, and payload specialist Li Jiaying. Zhang, an air force pilot, is on his first space mission. Li is the first payload specialist from Hong Kong. One astronaut will undertake a one-year in-orbit residency experiment, marking the longest single space mission for Chinese taikonauts to date.
