On October 26, 2023 at 03:14 UTC the "Shenzhou-17” manned spacecraft was launched from Chinese Jiuquan Cosmodrome in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province. The space vehicle was orbited by the Chinese "Chang Zheng-2F” (Long March 2F) rocket-carrier.

The spacecraft is piloted by 3 cosmonauts: Commander, Tang Hongbo (汤洪波) - center; Tang Shengjie (唐胜杰) – right; Jiang Xinlin (江新林) – left. The space vehicle is to dock with the Chinese “Tianhe” core module of the “Tiangong” space station (the “Tiangong /Shenzhou-16” orbital complex).