Shenzhou-23 includes first Hong Kong astronaut

China launched the Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft on Sunday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, sending three astronauts toward the Tiangong space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency and state media. The crew includes Lai Ka-ying, also identified in Mandarin as Li Jiaying, whom Chinese authorities described as the first astronaut from Hong Kong to fly on a national space mission. (chinaview.cn) Commander Zhu Yangzhu and spacecraft pilot Zhang Zhiyuan round out the crew. State media and other reports said the launch took place at 11:08 p.m. (english.scio.gov.cn) Beijing time on May 24 and was declared a success about 20 minutes later. ### Who is the Hong Kong astronaut on this flight? (english.scio.gov.cn) Lai Ka-ying is serving as Shenzhou-23’s payload specialist, the China Manned Space Agency said when it announced the crew on May 23. Chinese state media identified her Mandarin name as Li Jiaying and said she is the first astronaut selected from Hong Kong for China’s spaceflight program. Before entering the astronaut corps, Li worked in the Hong Kong Police Force, according to CMSA’s announcement carried by Xinhua and SCIO. The Associated Press said she was born and raised in Hong Kong and holds a doctoral degree in computer forensics. (chinaview.cn) ### Who else is on Shenzhou-23? Zhu Yangzhu is the mission commander and had previously flown on Shenzhou-16, according to CMSA. Zhang Zhiyuan, the spacecraft pilot, and Lai are both on their first spaceflight missions. CMSA spokesperson Zhang Jingbo said the three astronauts represent different roles: flight engineer, spacecraft pilot and payload specialist. (english.scio.gov.cn) State media said Zhu is China’s first flight engineer to serve as commander of a crewed mission. ### What makes this mission different from earlier Tiangong flights? CMSA said one member of the Shenzhou-23 crew will remain in orbit for a full year, departing from China’s standard roughly six-month station rotation. (english.scio.gov.cn) The agency said the astronaut for that longer stay will be chosen based on how the mission develops in orbit. Zhang Jingbo said the year-long residency will support China’s first space-based human-body research program focused on long-duration spaceflight. State media said the work is intended to study human adaptability and performance limits in orbit. (english.scio.gov.cn) ### Did Shenzhou-23 already reach Tiangong? SCMP reported that the crew were expected to take about 3½ hours to reach the Tiangong space station after liftoff. CollectSPACE, citing CMSA, said the spacecraft was following an expedited autonomous rendezvous and docking plan and was expected to arrive within hours. (english.scio.gov.cn) As of the sources reviewed here, the clearest verified development is the successful launch on May 24 and the start of the rendezvous toward Tiangong. Some social posts said the spacecraft had already reached the station, but the official and media reports available in this search primarily confirmed launch and the expected docking timeline rather than a completed docking announcement. (english.scio.gov.cn) ### What happens next on orbit? The Shenzhou-21 crew has been aboard Tiangong for more than 200 days and is due to hand over the station to the new arrivals before returning to Earth, according to CMSA-backed and independent spaceflight reports. CollectSPACE said the handover is expected to last about two weeks before the Shenzhou-21 crew lands in Inner Mongolia. (scmp.com) China has said Shenzhou-23 is the seventh crewed mission in the application and development stage of its space station program and the 40th flight mission of its manned space program. The next concrete milestone is the Tiangong handover, followed by confirmation of which astronaut will remain aboard for the planned one-year stay. (apnews.com) (english.scio.gov.cn) (collectspace.com)