Shenzhou XXIII crew heads to launch tower after a see-off ceremony

Many workers and residents at the Jiuquan spaceport stood along the road toward the launch site and hailed the astronauts as their car passed them.

The crew is to scheduled to be launched at 11:08 pm on Sunday to fly with the Shenzhou XXIII spacecraft to China's Tiangong space station. They will replace the Shenzhou XXI mission astronauts who have been in space for nearly seven months.