Monday May 25, 2026

China's Shenzhou-23 spaceship docks with Tiangong space station

Published : 24 May 2026, 23:55

  DF News Desk
The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, May 24, 2026. Photo: Xinhua by Lian Zhen.

China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship successfully docked with the Tiangong space station at 2:45 a.m. (Beijing Time) Monday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), reported Xinhua.

The spaceship made a fast, automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of Tiangong's core module Tianhe. The whole docking process took approximately 3.5 hours, said the CMSA.

The astronaut trio aboard the spaceship will then enter the Tianhe module. Meanwhile, the Shenzhou-21 crew members in the space station are ready to receive the new crew members.

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Sunday.