An 11-year-old prodigy has made headlines by coding a rocket. This young genius used their skills to create the software that controls a rocket, showing impressive talent and creativity. The work highlights how kids can do amazing things with technology and inspires others to explore their interests in coding and science. Yan Hongsen from China is the one hailed as a prodigy after teaching himself programming, physics, and chemistry to build a rocket with 600 lines of code. Hongsen has earned the nickname Rocket Boy in primary five.
According to the South China Morning Post. Hongsen has been sharing his journey on Douyin, a Chinese social media platform. His interest in rockets and astronomy began at the age of four after visiting a launch center and witnessing the Long March-2 liftoff. Hongsen started learning programming in kindergarten and taught himself physics and chemistry through books, online videos, and forums with astronomy enthusiasts. Encouraged by his eagerness to learn then his parents converted their living room into a rocket research studio.
In August 2022, Hongsen began building his first homemade rocket. Although it crashed during its launch in June last year, he analyzed the scrap to understand what went wrong. “The nitrocellulose didn’t explode as expected; the spring and lithium battery were also damaged. Maybe there is still an issue with the rocket’s body connection,” he told the South China Morning Post. His father described the maiden launch as a success despite the crash, expressing excitement and pride in his son’s calm and determined demeanor.
Currently, Hongsen is working on modifying his second rocket model. He has written over 600 lines of code for its flight control system and aspires to develop a genuine rocket for China in the future. Hongsen dreams of enrolling in one of China’s elite civilian defense institutes to further his passion for space exploration.
