China launches Shenzhou-23 for yearlong orbital stay (opens in new tab)

China launched the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft on a Long March 2-F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China at 11:08 p.m. local time May 24, sending three astronauts to the Tiangong space station. Chinese space authorities said the spacecraft separated from the rocket about 10 minutes after liftoff, entered orbit and docked with Tiangong after a flight of about 3.5 hours. The crew consists of commander Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, whose Mandarin name is ...