First Hong Kong astronaut to join Shenzhou XXIII space mission

They will be lifted into space by a Long March 2F carrier rocket scheduled to blast off at 11:08 pm on Sunday from the Jiuquan spaceport, he said.

The rocket's propellant injection work is scheduled to begin later on Saturday at the service tower, while other prelaunch preparations are underway, according to the spokesman, who is also a senior engineer at the space agency.

A notable member of the upcoming mission is Lai, a superintendent and technical specialist with the Hong Kong Police Force. She will become the first female civilian in China to travel into orbit and also the first astronaut from Hong Kong.

Before Lai, three Chinese women — Liu Yang, Wang Yaping and Wang Haoze — had traveled to space, all of them military personnel.

Lai will also become the first member of China's fourth-generation astronaut cohort to participate in a space mission.