A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft with three Chinese astronauts on board blasted off at 11:08 p.m. (Beijing Time) on Sunday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
About 10 minutes later, the spacecraft successfully separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. The crew is in good condition, and the launch was a complete success.
After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft will conduct a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of the Tianhe core module, forming a combination of three spacecraft and three modules.
Astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Li Jiaying, also known as Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese, are carrying out the Shenzhou-23 manned mission to China’s space station, with Zhu as the commander. Li, the first astronaut from China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), was selected as a payload specialist for the Shenzhou-23 mission.
The Shenzhou-23 crew will run over 100 new scientific and application projects across fields such as space life science, space materials science, microgravity fluid physics, aerospace medicine and new aerospace technologies, focusing on in-depth research and verification.
The Shenzhou-21 crew is currently aboard the space station. After completing the in-orbit handover with the Shenzhou-23 crew, the Shenzhou-21 crew will return to the Dongfeng Landing Site in northwest China.
This mission marks the seventh crewed flight mission during the application and development stage of China’s manned space program, and the 40th launch mission since the approval and implementation of the program.
So far, China has sent 30 astronauts into space.
The mission also represents the 644th flight of the Long March carrier rocket series and the 23rd flight of the Shenzhou spacecraft.
At present, the space station combination has entered its rendezvous and docking orbit and remains in good condition, meeting the requirements for the Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft’s docking and the astronauts’ entry into the station. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
