China reveals 3-person Shenzhou 23 crew, including Hong Kong's 1st astronaut

China has named the three astronauts due to fly on the Shenzhou 23 mission on Sunday (May 24), including Hong Kong's first astronaut. A Long March 2F rocket is due to lift off at 11:08 a.m. EDT (1508 GMT, or 11:08 p.m. Beijing time) on Sunday (May 24) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, sending the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft into orbit to dock with China's Tiangong space station in low Earth orbit . Aboard Shenzhou 23 will be commander Zhu Yangzhu, pilot Zhang Zhiyuan and payload specialist Lai Ka-ying. Zhu flew for the first time on the Shenzhou 16 mission in 2023, while Zhang and Lai, from China's third and fourth batches of astronauts, will be making their first trips to space. The crew were revealed at a press conference at Jiuquan on Saturday (May 23). Watch live! China's Shenzhou 23 crew launches to Tiangong space station - YouTube Watch On Lai is set to become Hong Kong's first astronaut to fly to space, having previously worked in the Hong Kong Police Force before being selected as an astronaut candidate in 2024. Another major first from the mission will see one Shenzhou 23 astronaut carry out China's first continuous year in orbit. The astronaut was not named, but a China Manned Space Agency representative stated that the pilot and payload specialist are able to perform each other's roles, suggesting that one of the two will stay for a full year in space. …