Ren Xinmin

Ren Xinmin was a Chinese rocket engineer and one of the principal founders of China's ballistic missile and space launch vehicle programs, considered alongside Qian Xuesen among the small group credited with establishing China's rocketry capability from its earliest years. He led the design and 1960 launch of the Dongfeng-1, China's first short-range ballistic missile, and the subsequent expansion of the Dongfeng missile family that formed the technical backbone of China's strategic rocket forces, before serving as technical director of the Long March 1 launch vehicle that placed Dong Fang Hong I, China's first satellite, into orbit in 1970. He later served as chief designer of the Long March 3 launch vehicle and of the Fengyun weather satellite and Shijian scientific satellite series, extending his influence from military missiles into China's civilian space program. Along with colleagues Huang Weilu, Tu Shou'e and Liang Shoupan he was known within Chinese aerospace circles as one of the 'Four Elders' of the country's rocketry program, and he received the Two Bombs, One Satellite Merit Medal in 1999.