Yan Hongsen taught himself coding, physics, and chemistry to build rockets. Although his first launch wasn’t a complete success, the young boy remains undeterred.
Yan Hongsen (11 years old), a fifth grader from Zhejiang Province (China), has become an internet sensation by self-learning programming, physics, and chemistry, eventually writing 600 lines of code to create and launch a rocket.
Hongsen self-studying rocket construction. (Photo: SCMP).
The boy documented his rocket-building journey on Douyin, quickly amassing 440,000 followers. He has also been affectionately dubbed the “Rocket Boy” by netizens, according to SCMP.
Self-learning Programming at Age 4
Yan’s father shared that after visiting a launch site and witnessing the Long March-2 rocket launch at just 4 years old, the boy developed a passion for rockets and astronomy.
While in kindergarten, Yan enrolled in online programming courses and self-studied physics and chemistry through books, videos, and astronomy forums.
After many months of tinkering, Yan has built his first rocket. (Photo: SCMP).
To support their son’s hobby, his parents converted their living room into a rocket research workshop. Thus, starting in August 2022, Yan Hongsen dedicated 10 months to constructing a solid-fuel rocket.
By June 2023, Yan launched his first rocket, naming it Sen Xing, which means “move forward,” symbolizing his desire to reach new heights in aerospace.
However, upon launch, Yan’s rocket failed to deploy its parachute. The remaining components were damaged, marking an unsuccessful first launch.
Undeterred, the boy collected the debris and began analyzing the cause of the failure.
“The nitrocellulose didn’t explode as I expected, the spring and lithium battery were also damaged, and there might still be an issue with the rocket body connection,” Yan explained.
Recalling his son’s rocket launch, Yan’s father noted that despite the rocket’s fall, it was still a successful first attempt for his son. At that moment, he was very anxious, while his son remained calm.
Currently, Yan is revising his creation and plans to launch again soon. In his latest video, the boy showcased the 600 lines of code he wrote for the flight control system of the new rocket version.
Gaining Fame from a Previous Incident
Speaking about his son, Yan Hongsen’s father shared that the boy has clear plans for the future. Specifically, he hopes to gain admission to one of the top seven military universities in China.
Additionally, the boy dreams of building a real rocket that China can launch into space when he grows up.
Yan previously attracted attention by pointing out mistakes in a rocket video. (Photo: Zhejiang News).
Yan’s father works in the tourism industry and stated that even though he does not understand aerospace, he will always support his son.
“As parents, we fully support our child’s dreams. If he encounters technical difficulties that he can’t solve, he always tells me, and I try to seek help from experts,” the father told SCMP.
Not only is Yan proficient in rocket construction, but he also excels academically, consistently ranking among the top in his class.
Moreover, this is not the first time Yan has gained recognition in the populous nation. In July 2022, at just 9 years old, he became well-known for identifying misinformation in a video about rockets at an observatory in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region. Specifically, Yan pointed out that a video’s content mistakenly confused the Long March 3 rocket with the Long March 5.
After being recognized for pointing out that error, Yan was invited by his elementary school to teach about space science to students during the new school year. This led to a greater interest in space science among his classmates.
Commenting on the 11-year-old student, Chinese netizens praised his talent and lauded his parents for always supporting his dream.
“He must be the youngest in China to know how to build rockets; I am very proud of him,” commented one user.
“The boy’s parents are amazing for unconditionally supporting their son’s dreams,” remarked another.
