China launched the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship on Sunday. The astronauts entered the Tiangong space station on Monday to begin handover with the Shenzhou-21 crew.
The Shenzhou-23 spaceship lifted off at 11:08 p.m. Beijing Time on Sunday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center aboard a Long March-2F rocket. The China Manned Space Agency declared the launch a complete success after the spacecraft separated from the rocket and entered orbit with the crew in good condition.
The three astronauts are mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Li Jiaying. Li is the first astronaut from Hong Kong to travel to space. The crew will conduct a one-year stay and more than 100 science projects.
On Monday at 5:13 a.m. Beijing Time the Shenzhou-21 crew opened the hatch and welcomed the new arrivals. The two crews took group pictures and began handover work.
