Leaving her family behind is the toughest part for Hong Kong’s first astronaut as she blasted off on Sunday for her six-month mission, according to her elder sister. Lai Ka-man recalled that when her sister, 43-year-old Hong Kong police superintendent Lai Ka-ying, was selected as a payload specialist in 2024, Ka-ying’s three children were still in primary school. They were now being cared for by both sets of grandparents and other family members. “When I saw my sister recently, I saw in her eyes...
China’s Shenzhou-23 astronauts blast off on space station mission.
The unprecedented participation of a Hong Kong researcher in the nation’s space flight mission is testament to the country’s high regard for the city’s innovation and technology talent and accomplishments, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has said. Lee congratulated payload specialist Lai Ka-ying, who is also a police superintendent, after she was named on Saturday morning as one of three astronauts who will take the Shenzhou-23 space flight to China’s Tiangong space station on Sunday...
SpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight Friday, an upgraded version that Nasa is counting on to land astronauts on the moon. The redesigned mega rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he was taking the company public. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites for release halfway around the world. It is the 12th test flight of the rocket that Musk is building to get people to Mars one day. But...