China Space Station Docks Shenzhou 23: First Hong Kong Astronaut, Year-Long Stay

China’s Tiangong space station now has six astronauts aboard following the docking of the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft early Monday morning, May 25, 2026 — a mission that marks two firsts simultaneously: the first astronaut from Hong Kong to reach orbit and China’s first attempt at a continuous year-long human spaceflight. The spacecraft completed a 3.5-hour automated rendezvous and docked at Tiangong’s Tianhe core module at 2:45 a.m. Beijing Time, roughly six hours after liftoff from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China’s northwestern…