The payload specialist is a part of a three-person crew, one of whom will be spending a year in space
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenHolly Chikin JiuquanPublished: 11:14pm, 24 May 2026Updated: 11:18pm, 24 May 2026China’s latest space mission, which includes Hong Kong’s first astronaut, lifted off on Sunday night.The Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwestern China’s Gansu province at 11.08pm local time on Sunday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
The rocket left the launchpad with a deafening blast and sent massive clouds of sand high up into the sky.
The mission will be commanded by Zhu Yangzhu, who was the flight engineer on the Shenzhou-16 mission, with Zhang Zhiyuan piloting the vessel.
The crew were met with cheers at a send-off ceremony at the Wentian Pavilion at Dongfeng Aerospace City and then moved on to the launch site in the Gobi Desert.
