China Launches Shenzhou-23 for Historic Year-Long Space Mission

Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu (R), Zhang Zhiyuan (C) and Li Jiaying attend the send-off ceremony at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China,

The spacecraft, carried by a Long March-2F rocket, blasted off at 11:08 PM Beijing Time from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft with three Chinese astronauts on board blasted off at 11:08 p.m.

The crew includes mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, an experienced astronaut from the Shenzhou-16 mission.