Shenzhou 23 | Shenzhou Soars Again Ninety Thousand Li — Written on the Occasion of the Successful Launch of the Shenzhou 23 Crewed Spacecraft

Shenzhou Soars Again Ninety Thousand Li, Seven Decades of Thunder and Storm — Written on the Occasion of the Successful Launch of the Shenzhou 23 Crewed Spacecraft

Xinhua News Agency Correspondents

Thousand-year-old Euphrates poplars stand tall, bearing witness to the heroic act of reaching for the heavens; the boundless Gobi Desert speaks in silence, lifting heroes as they set out on their mission.

At 23:08 on May 24, the Long March 2F Yao-23 carrier rocket carrying the Shenzhou 23 crewed spacecraft ignited and lifted off.

This was the 40th launch mission of China's crewed spaceflight program, the 644th flight of the Long March rocket, and the 23rd flight of the Shenzhou spacecraft.

The thunderous roar was like ten-thousand-ton wind and lightning. Looking back along the road traveled, history's long river has been marked by such earth-shattering moments: on October 8, 1956, the Fifth Research Institute of the Ministry of National Defense was established, and China's space program was born.

Seventy years — thunder and storm have shaken the land of China. From Jiuquan to Taiyuan, from Xichang to Wenchang, China's space workers have used the sky as their canvas and exhaust flames as their brush, painting a magnificent trajectory of advance toward becoming a space power.

The spark of the dream of flying to the heavens, kindled in individual hearts, spread like wildfire in the spring breeze of the era.

In June 1986, on the banks of the Yellow River, Zhang Zhiyuan was born into a family of teachers in Baiyin, Gansu. Three months later, along the Grand Canal, an ordinary farming family in Peixian, Jiangsu, welcomed their eldest son, Zhu Yangzhu. In November, in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, where the bauhinia blooms, Li Jiaying celebrated her fourth birthday.

They came from across the length and breadth of the motherland, each with a different life trajectory, yet they stood shoulder to shoulder and set out together on a journey to the stars and the sea — late at night on May 24, 2026, the Shenzhou 23 crew, composed of Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Li Jiaying, flew off toward the Milky Way.

On October 15, 2003, Yang Liwei set out from Jiuquan into space, fulfilling the Chinese nation's thousand-year dream of flying to the heavens.

Li Jiaying, then a student at the University of Hong Kong, watched Yang Liwei's spaceflight video over and over again. Zhang Zhiyuan, who had already passed the initial pilot selection, was jokingly called by his classmates a "future astronaut." The deeply moved Zhu Yangzhu later, with the stubborn determination of "refusing to accept reassignment," gained admission to the National University of Defense Technology's Department of Flight Vehicle Systems and Engineering, saying, "If I can't go to space myself, then I'll study the things that go to space."

Those dreams that seemed so far out of reach were brewing with infinite possibility in the spring breeze of the era. On a land of China changing with each passing day, one spacecraft after another was lifted into space — from one person for one day to multiple people for multiple days, from working inside the cabin to spacewalking…

In May 2018, China launched the selection process for its third cohort of astronauts. Military academy instructor Zhu Yangzhu applied; Air Force pilot Zhang Zhiyuan entered the selection; both stood out from approximately 2,500 candidates and joined the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps.

Four years later, China launched the selection of its fourth cohort of astronauts, and for the first time selected payload specialists from Hong Kong and Macao. Among the 120 application forms received by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the photograph of Li Jiaying showed her smiling broadly.

Those who pursue their dreams with their feet planted firmly on the ground travel this arduous road to reach the stars.

In an orbit more than 300 kilometers above the surface, the Tianhe core module, the Wentian experiment module, and the Mengtian experiment module are assembled like building blocks into a "T" configuration. The Chinese Space Station, once drawn only on blueprints, has become a "Chinese star" patrolling the heavens day and night.

In 2023, Zhu Yangzhu became the first among the third cohort of astronauts to fly to space. He said: "It is the new era that gives us dreams to pursue and makes those dreams achievable!"

When the Shenzhou 23 crew departed in the dead of night, the 40th launch mission of the crewed spaceflight program got underway. With Zhang Zhiyuan and Li Jiaying entering space, China now has 30 astronauts who have fulfilled their dream of reaching the heavens.

"The space station missions have cultivated a team of astronauts who have executed space missions and possess rich spaceflight experience, which can provide a solid reserve of talent for the selection of astronaut crews for subsequent crewed lunar landing missions," said Zhang Jingbo, spokesperson for the China Manned Space Program.

A half-moon hangs obliquely at the edge of the sky — that is the distant destination the Chinese people are about to reach.

The journey is often met with wind and rain, but nothing can stop the footsteps of conviction.

The crew designation "Shenzhou 22" will remain forever vacant in the sequence — and the story begins with a fragment of space debris barely visible to the naked eye.

In early November 2025, before the Shenzhou 20 crew returned to Earth, a crack caused by a space debris impact was discovered on the spacecraft's porthole. Everyone drew a sharp breath: could a spacecraft with a crack still guarantee the safety of the astronauts?

The Space Station Operations Management Committee decided to postpone the return mission of the Shenzhou 20 crewed spacecraft; all systems strictly carried out various tests and joint debugging and testing according to procedures. Tens of thousands of space workers, with no time to savor the joy and relief of having just sent Shenzhou 21 into orbit, plunged headlong into the new mission.

On November 4, the first emergency operation in the history of China's crewed spaceflight was initiated — the Shenzhou 20 crew returned to the Dongfeng Landing Site aboard the Shenzhou 21 crewed spacecraft; the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft was placed on a 16-day emergency launch readiness; and the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft was to return unmanned at an opportune time.

Spaceflight has always been an undertaking full of risk and challenge.

Shenzhou 1 once had its heat shield base opened for comprehensive inspection to eliminate a technical hazard. The launches of Shenzhou 4 and Shenzhou 15 both faced the test of extremely low temperatures and bitter cold. The Shenzhou 2 rocket-spacecraft assembly unexpectedly collided with the mobile launch platform…

Ordinary mortals venture far; conviction knocks at heaven's gate.

When Shenzhou 5 ascended, Yang Liwei experienced 26 seconds of resonance that made him believe for a moment he was on the verge of death. But he said: "Even if it costs one's life to realize the dream of a nation, it is worth it."

During Shenzhou 7's execution of China's first extravehicular activity, a "fire in the orbital module" alarm suddenly sounded. In that life-or-death instant, astronaut Zhai Zhigang's resolute choice was to exit the spacecraft: "Even if we cannot return, we must let the Five-Starred Red Flag fly in space."

When the return to Earth was put on "pause," the Shenzhou 20 crew immediately declared they would subordinate themselves to the overall mission situation, defer to ground-based decisions, and accept any outcome.

The interests of the motherland above all else — this is not only the conviction of the astronaut community, but also the conviction of the more than 700 martyrs resting eternally in the Dongfeng Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery, and the shared conviction of all of China's space workers.

On November 14, 2025, hatch opener Liu Wenbo opened the hatch of the Shenzhou 21 return capsule, and the Shenzhou 20 crew returned home safely. On November 25, Liu Feng of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation watched as the Long March 2F Yao-22 rocket ignited and soared skyward — this rocket had transitioned from standby to launch-ready status, completing testing, final assembly, propellant loading, and launch within 16 days. On January 19, 2026, the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft successfully landed; at that moment, ten thousand rays of morning light shone over the Dongfeng Landing Site.

Astronaut crew designations are normally consistent with the mission number of the spacecraft they fly, and so the Shenzhou 22 crew designation will remain forever vacant in the sequence. "It reminds us never to think we have achieved a perfect score of 100." said Jia Shijin of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

The Shenzhou spacecraft team replaced the porthole on Shenzhou 23 and enhanced its protective capability against space debris impacts. The rocket system validated the Long March 2F rocket's emergency launch operational capability and continuously raised the level of product quality control. The launch site system summarized mission experience and optimized work procedures and position handoffs…

The story has not yet reached its end. In wind and rain, people hold up the umbrella and press forward.

The space dream and the dream of a strong nation are concentric circles in the hearts of hundreds of millions of Chinese sons and daughters.

Luohu Port, Shenzhen — the core hub of integrated development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

More than 70 years ago, there was only a single Luohu Bridge here. In October 1955, Qian Xuesen, dressed in a black suit, walked onto the bridge — he had just broken through layer upon layer of American obstruction and returned to the motherland via Hong Kong.

Shortly after returning to China, he was tasked with establishing the Fifth Research Institute of the Ministry of National Defense. A group of people "vanished without a trace" in the autumn of 1956, founding the space program of New China.

In 1958, Sun Jixian — who had led Red Army soldiers to force a crossing of the Dadu River during the Long March and had served as deputy commander of the 20th Corps of the Chinese People's Volunteers — led the officers and soldiers of the 20th Corps who had "mysteriously disappeared" from the Korean battlefield on a march of thousands of li into the northwestern desert, to establish China's first comprehensive missile test range, opening a "new Long March" aimed at space.

In 1960, China's first domestically produced surface-to-surface missile — the Dongfeng-1 — rose into the sky. In 1964, China's first atomic bomb was successfully detonated. In 1967, China's first hydrogen bomb air-burst test succeeded. In 1970, China's first artificial satellite was successfully launched, and the melody of "The East Is Red" resounded through the heavens… With each thunderous roar, the world was compelled to look anew at "the East."

The wheel of history rolls ever forward.

On July 1, 1997, the Chinese government resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong.

In the jubilant crowds on the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui, 15-year-old Li Jiaying bore witness: the flag of the People's Republic of China and the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region were raised on the banks of the Xiangjiang River. After Hong Kong's return, she was able to go back with her parents to visit relatives in Shunde, Guangdong, passing through Luohu Port along the way.

"Hong Kong has always shared the same fate as the motherland through thick and thin, bound together by ties of blood. We are not only witnesses to the motherland's development, but participants and contributors." As the first astronaut from Hong Kong, she said with deep feeling at a collective meeting with Chinese and foreign media reporters: "Let us all work hard together — there will surely be a better tomorrow!"

"Shenzhou" flies to the heavens, "Tiangong" patrols the skies, "Chang'e" journeys to the moon, "Zhurong" explores Mars, "Xihe" chases the sun… This is the better tomorrow that the older generation of space workers longed for.

"Exploring the vast universe and building China into a space power is the space dream we pursue without ceasing." This is the better tomorrow that the space workers of the new era strive for.

On May 24, Sun Dongning, son of Sun Jixian, came to the Dongfeng Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery and poured a bottle of water drawn from the Dadu River before Sun Jixian's grave.

"This year marks the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army's Long March and the 70th anniversary of the founding of China's space program. From the Long March road to the space road, you and countless revolutionary forebears walked out a 'Long March for eternity' with your entire lives." Standing before his father's grave, Sun Dongning said.

At midnight, the rocket soared into the sky, its flames cleaving the heavens, and the letters "CZ" — representing "Long March" — gleamed brilliantly on the milky-white body of the rocket. This is a fresh mark on the journey of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, another magnificent expedition of China's space program toward the stars and the sea. (Correspondents Li Guoli, Liu Yi, Huang Yichen, Yang Ru, Liu Yinuo)

(Xinhua News Agency, Jiuquan, May 24)