China Launches Shenzhou 23 With Hong Kong's First Astronaut as One Crew Member Prepares for Historic Year-Long Stay

Overview

China launched its Shenzhou 23 crewed spacecraft on Sunday, May 24, 2026, carrying three astronauts to the Tiangong space station — including Lai Ka-ying, the first astronaut from Hong Kong to reach space. One of the three crew members is set to remain aboard Tiangong for approximately one year, marking China’s first year-long spaceflight, according to Space.com.

The Crew

Shenzhou 23 launched atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 11:08 a.m. EDT (1508 GMT) on May 24, as reported by Space.com and PBS NewsHour.

The three-person crew consists of:

• Zhu Yangzhu (Commander) — a third-batch astronaut who previously flew on Shenzhou-16
• Zhang Zhiyuan (Spacecraft Pilot) — a third-batch astronaut and former PLA Air Force pilot
• Lai Ka-ying (Payload Specialist) — a fourth-batch astronaut and the first from Hong Kong’s special administrative region

According to Global Times, Lai Ka-ying is also identified by Chinese authorities as Li Jiaying, the Mandarin transliteration of her name. Lai — born and raised in Hong Kong with a doctoral degree in computer forensics, as reported by PBS NewsHour — made history by becoming the first resident of Hong Kong to fly in space.

“As an ordinary person from Hong Kong, being able to join the astronaut team…is an opportunity I never dared to dream of,” Lai said before the launch, according to Global Times.

China’s First Year-Long Spaceflight

While Shenzhou 23’s nominal mission is a six-month-long stay aboard the station, one of the three crew members will remain for approximately one year — what Space.com describes as “China’s first year-long spaceflight.” PBS NewsHour reports this would place the extended mission “among the world’s longest single stays in space.”

The extended duration is driven by scheduling: Shenzhou 24 is planned to carry a Pakistani astronaut to Tiangong for a brief visit, which means one crew member from Shenzhou 23 must remain behind to overlap with that mission, according to Space.com. The objective of the year-long stay is to “explore human adaptability and performance limits” in long-duration spaceflight environments, state media reported, as cited by PBS NewsHour. Chinese space officials have not yet publicly identified which of the three crew members will complete the extended mission.

Upgraded Spacecraft and Rapid Docking

The Shenzhou 23 capsule features several improvements over earlier versions, according to Global Times. Return payload capacity has been increased from 50 kg to over 100 kg, and the payload volume has been expanded to three times the previous capacity. The crew planned to execute a 3.5-hour rapid rendezvous and docking with Tiangong — a profile that Global Times described as a historic first if completed as planned.

Once aboard, the crew will conduct dozens of science and application projects, according to PBS NewsHour and WDIO (AP).

Rotation With a Long-Delayed Crew

Shenzhou 23 will relieve the Shenzhou 21 crew — Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang — who had been aboard Tiangong for more than 200 days by the time of the launch, according to Space.com. Their extended stay came after a suspected debris impact damaged the Shenzhou 20 vehicle, which had been parked at the station to serve as their return craft. Their Shenzhou 21 colleagues subsequently used the Shenzhou 21 spacecraft to return home, and an uncrewed Shenzhou 22 was sent to Tiangong to serve as a lifeboat for the stranded crew. The Shenzhou 21 crew is now scheduled to return to Earth on May 29, according to Space.com.

What We Don’t Know

Chinese space officials have not publicly named which of the three Shenzhou 23 crew members will remain aboard Tiangong for the full year-long mission. The exact docking time and completion status of the rapid 3.5-hour rendezvous maneuver had not been confirmed in early reporting. No mission timeline for Shenzhou 24 or the Pakistani astronaut’s visit has been officially released.