The China Manned Space Agency said on Saturday that Lai Ka-ying, the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, has been selected as a payload specialist for the Shenzhou-23 spaceflight mission.

Lai's crewmates will be Zhu Yangzhu and Zhang Zhiyuan, with Zhu being the commander, the agency announced at a press conference.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 11.08pm on Sunday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, said spokesman Zhang Jingbo.

Zhu, who was on the Shenzhou-16 space mission, is the flight engineer. Zhang is the spacecraft pilot.

Zhang and Lai come from the third and fourth batches of astronauts, respectively. It will be their first spaceflight mission.

Before being selected, Zhang was an air force pilot, and Lai worked in the Hong Kong Police Force.

The agency also said an astronaut from the Shenzhou-23 crew is set to carry out a one-year-long in-orbit stay experiment.

Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee congratulated Lai on becoming a member of China's fourth batch of astronauts.

"Hong Kong saw a historic day in its participation in the country’s great space endeavours. The China Manned Space Agency announced that payload expert doctor Lai Ka-ying from Hong Kong will be part of the Shenzhou-23 crew to head to the China space station to carry out mission," he said.

"I express my heartfelt gratitude to the nation for its trust in Hong Kong, and the recognition and support to Hong Kong's innovation and technology personnel." (Additional reporting by Xinhua)
_____________________________
Last updated: 2026-05-23 HKT 17:45



Edited by Robert Kemp