On May 25, 2026, the crew of the Shenzhou-23 manned spacecraft successfully boarded China's Tiangong space station. After an automatic docking with the Tianhe core module, the astronauts opened the hatches and entered the station. This is reported by Ixbt.com reports .
Three taikonauts — commander Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Li Jiaying — began handover procedures after conducting necessary system checks. They will focus on scientific experiments, station maintenance, and preparing the previous crew for their return to Earth.
As a reminder, the Changzheng-2F carrier rocket was successfully launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on May 24. Shenzhou-23 took off at 17:20 Beijing time and docked automatically with the station approximately 3.5 hours after launch. All flight stages proceeded as planned.
This mission marks the 23rd manned flight under the Shenzhou program. China continues to actively develop the Tiangong space station, which has been operating continuously since 2022. It was previously reported that the spacecraft underwent comprehensive technical modernization based on existing technologies.
Developers updated the return capsule's equipment system and optimized the human-machine interface. Additionally, the instrument panel was made more compact, freeing up more space for payload. To ensure the safety of the taikonauts, the spacecraft's windows have also been reinforced and improved.
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