Published : 2026-06-05
Hong Kong's very own astronaut, Lai Ka-ying, has entered the Tiangong Space Station via the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft.
Remarkably, her voyage has not only chalked up several "firsts", but has also rewritten a Chinese space record that stood for more than 10 years, previously held by Liu Yang. What is Lai Ka-ying's background? And exactly what record has she broken?
Lai Ka-ying｜Father's teaching: "Without a country, there is no home"
Lai Ka-ying (黎家盈) was born in Hong Kong in 1982, with her ancestral home in Shunde, Guangdong Province.
Her father earnestly taught his children, "We are people from Shunde" and "Without a country, there is no home", instilling in Lai Ka-ying a deep affection for her hometown and motherland from a young age.
Lai Ka-ying attended Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College for her secondary education, and after graduation, she was admitted to the University of Hong Kong, obtaining her PhD in 2011. The title of her doctoral thesis was "Online Infringement Offences and Computer Forensics".
In 2012, she joined the Police Force through the Professional Stream, worked in the "Technical Services Division", which is responsible for information technology support, and was progressively promoted to Chief Inspector and Superintendent.
Lai Ka-ying is married, and her husband is a Senior Engineer at the Highways Department. The two were secondary school classmates and can be described as childhood sweethearts. After getting married, they had three children.
From an elite of the police force to an astronaut, could Lai Ka-ying's life trajectory be described as a "dramatic change"? It turns out she had a dream of spaceflight as early as her secondary school days.
Like many Chinese people, her dream of spaceflight originated from Yang Liwei (楊利偉) soaring into the sky aboard Shenzhou-5 in 2003, which opened a new chapter for the Chinese people in their exploration of space.
Lai Ka-ying: A rare opportunity to go all out
Lai Ka-ying once mentioned that later, when Yang Liwei was communicating with overseas Chinese, one of the overseas Chinese said, "However high our Chinese spacecraft can fly, that is how high we Chinese people can hold our heads". This statement moved her deeply, "I couldn't help but shed tears".
For Hong Kong residents to fly into space was once an unattainable fantasy. But with the rapid development of China's space programme, Lai Ka-ying's dream gradually became a tangible possibility.
In 2022, the country launched the selection process for the fourth batch of astronauts and, for the first time, recruited payload specialists from the Hong Kong and Macao.
Lai Ka-ying decided to participate. "I felt that with such a rare opportunity, I had to go all out!"
She went to Beijing for the selection process, standing out from about 120 candidates from Hong Kong. Afterwards, she completed over 200 training subjects across eight major categories, finally "graduating" with excellent results.
Read more: Will HK astronaut Lai Ka-ying perform spacewalk? What is "payload specialist"?
Lai Ka-ying: Will take more photos of Hong Kong
Of course, the astronaut training is absolutely "hellish", and Lai Ka-ying had to overcome various challenges unimaginable to the average person. As a mother of three, what was perhaps even harder for her to endure was the long separation from her family during training.
On 24 May 2026, Lai embarked on her space mission. As a payload specialist, she partnered with Zhu Yangzhu (朱楊柱) and Zhang Zhiyuan (張志遠), launching into space aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft to be stationed in "Tiangong" for six months.
"Many people have asked me to take more photos of Hong Kong from space. I will remember that. I often hear astronauts share their feelings about being in space, and I am really looking forward to experiencing it for myself. After I return, I will share my feelings with everyone," said Lai Ka-ying before her mission.
So, what Chinese spaceflight records did Lai's mission actually break? Or what "firsts" did she achieve?
Lai Ka-ying｜Liu Yang had held the record for 14 years
What is most widely known is probably that Lai Ka-ying became the first astronaut from Hong Kong; she is also the first female payload specialist to be stationed in Tiangong.
Previously, only two payload specialists, Gui Haichao (桂海潮) and Zhang Hongzhang (張洪章), had carried out Tiangong missions, and they are both male.
And what people might not have noticed is that among China's fourth batch of astronauts, Lai Ka-ying is the first to make a public appearance and fly to space.
She also broke the record for the fastest mission assignment for a Chinese astronaut. From being selected for the fourth batch of astronauts and starting training in June 2024, to carrying out the Shenzhou-23 mission in May 2026, it took only one year and 11 months.
The previous record was held by China's first female astronaut in space, Liu Yang (劉洋). She joined the astronaut corps in May 2010 and had her first space flight in June 2012, a duration of two years and one month.
And who took the longest from training to mission assignment? Do you remember Deng Qingming (鄧清明) from the first batch of astronauts? It took him 24 years and 10 months.
Lai Ka-ying's mission is still ongoing. Will she break any other records? Let's wait and see.
