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Yan Hongsen and his homemade rocket. [Photo/Tide News]

An 11-year-old boy from Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, has been developing and launching his own homemade rockets.

Yan Hongsen, a student at Yuanpei Primary School, has just launched his second homemade rocket, "Senxing-1", which climbed 150 meters into the sky. The launch attracted more than 2 million viewers on the internet.

Yan's work has earned him accolades, including first prize in the 2024 National Youth Space Innovation Competition.

The prize-winning rocket, which stands more than a meter tall, has a sleek black carbon-fiber exterior and uses solid fuel for propulsion. Yan designed its control system, welded its circuit boards, and assembled it piece by piece in his home workshop. 

Yan's interest in rockets began at the age of four during a family visit to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, where he watched a rocket launch.

The experience inspired him to pursue his dream of building rockets himself. His father turned the family's living room into a workshop, where Yan spends hours each day after school designing, testing, and refining his creations. 

Yan Hongsen tests rocket parts in his workshop. [Photo/Tide News]

His first rocket, launched after 10 months of work, failed when the parachute malfunctioned. However, Yan quickly identified the problems, fixed them, and succeeded in the second launch. 

To support his learning, Yuanpei Primary School and local organizations have provided him with additional resources, including access to aerospace professionals and hands-on surgery.

Although the low-altitude exploration mini-rocket developed by Yan is similar in production process and launch principles to real rockets, Yan is well aware that his efforts are just small-scale experiments.

He plans to pursue systematic studies after entering university. He said he looks forward to the day when he can send a rocket he built into space.