Watch live as China launches a crew of three astronauts to its Tiangong space station on Shenzhou-23 spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The crew includes Lai Ka-ying, who

China launched its historic Shenzhou-23 mission from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, sending a new crew of three astronauts toward the Tiangong space station in another major milestone for the country’s rapidly expanding space program.

One of the three Shenzhou 23 crewmates will spend a full year in space — a first for China. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. China has named the three astronauts due to fly on the Shenzhou 23 mission on Sunday (May 24),

China successfully launched another spacecraft Sunday that is set to carry three astronauts to its space station. One crew member aboard the Shenzhou 23 is expected to remain in space for one year, which would be among the world's longest single stays in space.

NASA’s Artemis II mission sent four astronauts on a crewed loop around the Moon and brought them home in April 2026. Within weeks, Chinese state media and follow-on reporting pointed to a different kind of response from Beijing,

China sent artificial human embryos to its Tiangong space station, aiming to study how microgravity impacts early embryonic development and future space colonization.