HK's first astronaut Lai Ka-ying to board Shenzhou-23 spaceship on Sunday 23:08
發佈日期: 2026-05-23 20:07
TVB News
The Shenzhou 23 manned spacecraft is scheduled to take off tomorrow night at 11:08.
Its three crew members include the very first Hong Kong-born astronaut Lai Ka-ying, who will be the fourth-ever Chinese female astronaut.
The Hong Kong native says she will give her all in the mission.
One day before the launch of the Shenzhou 23 manned spacecraft, the three astronauts meet the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre.
Among them is 43-year-old Hong Kong Police Superintendent Lai Ka-ying, who is poised to be the first female payload specialist on a Chinese space station.
Lai says, as an ordinary Hong Kong citizen, being selected for this mission is a precious opportunity.
She says she will give her all to undertake the mission, and contribute to the development of the nation.
Lai also spoke in Cantonese this morning.
Thank you all for your support and concern. I will work hard and if we work hard together, there will definitely be a better tomorrow. Thank you.
Lai joined the team in August 2024, and completed eight major categories with over 200 training subjects, accumulating more than 1,700 class hours.
She passed the flight qualification evaluation with excellent results.
Exhorting young people in Hong Kong, Lai says the city's Lion Rock spirit of never giving up is deeply connected to her space journey.
She says this belief in resilience has carried her throughout the process.
She encourages Hong Kong's young people to contribute to the SAR and the motherland.
Zhu Yangzhu, who took part in the Shenzhou-16 manned spacecraft mission, serves as the commander this time.
He is the first Chinese astronaut to serve as commander and an aerospace flight engineer.
Zhu describes Lai as resilient, intelligent and optimistic, having quickly integrated into the team.
Also making his debut in space was Zhang Zhiyuan, who was an Air Force pilot.
Lai was chosen from around 120 Hong Kong candidates but her path in life was not without bumps.
Speaking in an interview with CCTV, she reveals she nearly had to repeat a year in primary school before later discovering her passion for computer science.
She later joined the technical services division of the Hong Kong Police Force.
She adds she was moved to tears after hearing China's first astronaut Yang Liwei cite the remarks of overseas Chinese -- that the higher China's spacecraft flies, the higher Chinese people can hold their heads.
She says some endurance training required them to stay awake for 72 hours and her police experience has helped.
But the 48-hour desert survival training was tougher, as she's not very good with heat, she says.
The upcoming mission marks China's first crew composed of the third and fourth batches of astronauts, with one astronaut carrying out a one-year flight mission to implement China's first research on human body in space.
Lai's mission will make Hong Kong the 56th country or region in the world to successfully send a resident to space.
