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NASA Spaceflight • Justin Davenport

China’s Shenzhou-23 launches May 24 with 3-person crew (incl. Hong Kong’s first taikonaut) for year-long Tiangong stay

China will launch the Shenzhou-23 crew to the Tiangong space station on May 24 from Jiuquan aboard a Chang Zheng 2F (CZ-2F), marking a record-length, year-long mission. Beijing has named a three-person team for the flight, including Hong Kong’s first astronaut.

2026-05-23T15:26:31.297723-07:00

Bloomberg

China to launch Shenzhou-23 to Tiangong with first Hong Kong taikonaut, starting an overdue crew rotation

2026-05-22T22:42:22.261557-07:00

SpaceNews.com

Blue Origin clears New Glenn to resume after upper-stage payload-delivery failure; FAA lift follows April mishap investigation

2026-05-22T19:54:41.952921-07:00

Ars Technica

NASA announces agencywide realignment under Administrator Jared Isaacman to sharpen mission delivery

2026-05-22T07:39:18.739239-07:00

News Timeline

NASA Spaceflight

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China’s Shenzhou-23 launches May 24 with 3-person crew (incl. Hong Kong’s first taikonaut) for year-long Tiangong stay China will launch the Shenzhou-23 crew to the Tiangong space station on May 24 from Jiuquan aboard a Chang Zheng 2F (CZ-2F), marking a record-length, year-long mission. Beijing has named a three-person team for the flight, including Hong Kong’s first astronaut.

2026-05-23T15:26:31.297723-07:00

China’s Shenzhou-23 launches May 24 with 3-person crew (incl. Hong Kong’s first taikonaut) for year-long Tiangong stay

Bloomberg

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China to launch Shenzhou-23 to Tiangong with first Hong Kong taikonaut, starting an overdue crew rotation China is set to launch Shenzhou-23 on Sunday from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, sending three astronauts—Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying—to Tiangong. The mission will relieve an overdue crew and could mark the start of China’s first year-long stay in orbit, with Lai becoming Hong Kong’s first astronaut on a Chinese space station flight.

2026-05-22T22:42:22.261557-07:00

China to launch Shenzhou-23 to Tiangong with first Hong Kong taikonaut, starting an overdue crew rotation

SpaceNews.com

Blue Origin clears New Glenn to resume after upper-stage payload-delivery failure; FAA lift follows April mishap investigation Blue Origin says it has completed its investigation into the third New Glenn flight failure, in which the upper stage did not deliver a commercial payload in April. The FAA has cleared the rocket to fly again, removing the program’s current grounding.

2026-05-22T19:54:41.952921-07:00

Blue Origin clears New Glenn to resume after upper-stage payload-delivery failure; FAA lift follows April mishap investigation

Ars Technica

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NASA announces agencywide realignment under Administrator Jared Isaacman to sharpen mission delivery NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a major reorganization aimed at increasing mission focus, streamlining the agency, and accelerating delivery of National Space Policy-aligned priorities. The workforce message is framed as a management blueprint, signaling an organizational shift toward higher-priority objectives.

2026-05-22T07:39:18.739239-07:00

NASA announces agencywide realignment under Administrator Jared Isaacman to sharpen mission delivery

SpaceNews.com

AUKUS partners’ Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability site hits early operations as Australia targets full capability by 2027 Australia’s Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) Site 1 in Western Australia is already delivering early tracking data for AUKUS partners, with full operational capability targeted for 2027. The deployment underscores how Australia’s southern geography is being used to build dual-use space surveillance resilience for strategic coordination.

2026-05-22T06:10:08.386342-07:00

AUKUS partners’ Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability site hits early operations as Australia targets full capability by 2027

SpaceWatch Global

DTM 2026 Berlin ISR roundtable spotlights latency, sovereignty, and procurement reform as retired-generals push for modernizatio In a closed-door ISR roundtable at DTM 2026 Berlin, participants focused on the practical bottlenecks of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance—especially data latency—and the need for greater national sovereignty over ISR capabilities. The discussion also weighed procurement reform priorities and the implications of veteran leadership advocating new approaches despite institutional inertia.

2026-05-22T04:04:47.802030-07:00

DTM 2026 Berlin ISR roundtable spotlights latency, sovereignty, and procurement reform as retired-generals push for modernizatio

Space.com

SpaceX lines up private Mars flyby on Starship led by crypto investor Chun Wang (timing unclear) SpaceX says a privately funded Mars flyby mission will be led by cryptocurrency investor Chun Wang, marking a new high-profile attempt to turn Starship into a mission platform beyond Earth orbit. The company has not clarified when the flyby will launch, ahead of a planned Starship Flight 12 attempt.

2026-05-22T03:09:25.778673-07:00

SpaceX lines up private Mars flyby on Starship led by crypto investor Chun Wang (timing unclear)

SpaceNews.com

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Rocket Lab wins $90M Space Force contract for first GEO satellites supporting Space Domain Awareness (SDA) Rocket Lab has secured its first geostationary-orbit satellite production orders: a $90 million U.S. Space Force contract to design, manufacture and operate two GEO satellites for Space Domain Awareness. The award also extends a Space Systems Command effort delivering two Heimdall prototype payloads on orbit.

2026-05-22T02:54:42.006132-07:00

Rocket Lab wins $90M Space Force contract for first GEO satellites supporting Space Domain Awareness (SDA)

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Space Policy & International Cooperation News

China’s Shenzhou-23 launches May 24 with 3-person crew (incl. Hong Kong’s first taikonaut) for year-long Tiangong stay

China to launch Shenzhou-23 to Tiangong with first Hong Kong taikonaut, starting an overdue crew rotation

Blue Origin clears New Glenn to resume after upper-stage payload-delivery failure; FAA lift follows April mishap investigation

NASA announces agencywide realignment under Administrator Jared Isaacman to sharpen mission delivery

News Timeline