China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship successfully docked with the Tiangong space station at 2:45 a.m. (Beijing Time) Monday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The spaceship made a fast, automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of Tiangong's core module Tianhe. The whole docking process took approximately 3.5 hours, said the CMSA.

The astronaut trio aboard the spaceship - which includes the first astronaut from the Hong Kong Kong SAR Lai Ka-ying - will then enter the Tianhe module. Meanwhile, the Shenzhou-21 crew members in the space station are ready to receive the new crew members.

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Sunday. (Xinhua with additional reporting from RTHK)


Edited by Robert Kemp