Shenzhou-23 spaceship, with Lai Ka-ying on board, lifted off at 23:08

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The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship was launched at 11:08 p.m. at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

The three astronauts, including Hong Kong-born Lai Ka-ying, as well as commander Zhu Yangzhu and teammate Zhang Zhiyuan, were on board.

The Shenzhou-23 mission marks the first crewed flight of a new spacecraft batch featuring a major upgrade that doubles the vehicle's cargo return payload, or downmass capacity, addressing a critical bottleneck in the nation's space station program.

The Shenzhou-23 also is the second spacecraft of the new batch and its inaugural crewed mission. Compared to earlier spacecraft used during the initial space station construction phase, this new generation incorporates significant improvements targeting operational constraints.