Shenzhou-23 Launches to Tiangong, Three Astronauts Begin Long-Duration Mission
Summary: On June 17, 2026, China launched Shenzhou-23 from Wenchang on a Long March 2F, sending three astronauts to the Tiangong space station to begin the countrys most ambitious long-duration crewed mission yet.
On June 17, 2026, Beijing time, the Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft lifted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan atop a Long March 2F (Y13) rocket. The spacecraft reached its预定 orbit on schedule and is expected to complete an automated fast rendezvous and docking with the Tiangong space station within hours of launch. The mission continues Chinas regular crew rotation cadence during the space stations application and development phase, with the Shenzhou-23 crew set to relieve the in-orbit Shenzhou-22 crew and carry the station forward into another long-duration increment.
According to initial reporting, the Shenzhou-23 crew consists of three astronauts drawn from Chinas second or third astronaut cohorts. Final crew composition and the designation of the commander are subject to the official announcement from the China Manned Space Engineering Office. After a short handover period that includes on-orbit work transfer,物资 transfer, and experiment sample recovery, the Shenzhou-22 crew is expected to return to the Dongfeng landing site aboard the Shenzhou-22 return capsule.
On the research side, the mission is reported to carry more than 100 space science and application experiments, spanning space life science, microgravity fluid physics and combustion, space materials science, and verification of new space technologies. The detailed experiment manifest, the participating research institutions, and any interim results are待 to be released by the China Manned Space Engineering Office and the relevant payload teams. Within Chinas 2026 manned spaceflight cadence, Shenzhou-23 serves as one of the key milestones that keeps the schedule aligned with Tianzhou cargo resupply flights, the next-generation crewed spacecraft program, and the longer-term expansion of the Tiangong complex.