China is launching the Shenzhou 23. Three astronauts are going.
The Long March 2F rocket lifts off on Sunday. May 24. Specifically, 11:08 a.m. EDT, or if you’re looking at Beijing time, late that night at 11:08 p.m.
They’re shooting for orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Lock Center. Deep in the Gobi Desert. The target is clear. Dock with the Tiangong space station. Low Earth orbit waits.
The crew list drops during a press conference on Saturday. Zhu Yangzhu commands the ship. Zhang Zhiyuan is the pilot. Lai Ka-ying serves as the payload specialist.
Zhu isn’t new to this. He flew Shenzhou 16 in 2023. He’s been up there before.
The others are rookies. First timers.
Zhang Zhiyuan comes from China’s third astronaut batch. Lai Ka-ying represents the fourth.
And here’s the kicker. Lai Ka-ying changes the map.
She is Hong Kong’s first astronaut. Before space, she was a cop. The Hong Kong Police Force knows her well. In 2024, they swapped her badge for a helmet. Selected as a candidate. Now, she’s going for good.
There’s another first on board. A big one.
One crew member stays for a whole year.
No name attached to it yet. The China Manned Space Agency kept that tight. But the rep hinted that the pilot and the payload specialist can swap roles. Either one of them might stick around. A full year in orbit. Continuous.
Why go so long? To make the next trip easier.
In six months, Shenzhou 24 launches. A Pakistani astronaut comes with them. They visit Tiangong. A few days only.
Then they come back.
They ride home on Shenzhou 23. That’s the plan. They take the seat of the person who stayed behind.
When Shenzhou 23 actually docks, they aren’t alone.
Hours after launch, they’ll meet the Shenzhou 21 team. Zhang Lu. Wu Fei. Zhang Hongzhang.
These three are wrapping up seven months. They leave at the end of the month. A handshake in microgravity before one set goes out and the other comes in.
Things got safer for this mission, too.
Look at the windows. Better protection on the port view.
Shenzhou 20 took a hit. A window cracked from space debris. Suspected impact. Real danger.
That incident triggered an emergency. Shenzhou 20 couldn’t wait for its own return. The crew jumped to Shenzhou 21 to get home. Safe, but scrambled. Then an unmanned Shenzhou 22 had to launch just to serve as a lifeboat for the stranded 21 crew.
It was a messy dance. Now they’ve reinforced the glass.
They want to avoid that chaos.
Lai Ka-ying is just getting started. The year-long stay sets a new pace. The Pakistani visit adds new partners.
What happens when you mix routine with so many firsts?
Nobody knows yet.
