Many people gathered in Beijing to say goodbye to a famed expert of missile and rocket technologies on Thursday. Ren Xinmin, a scientist whose dedication and expertise propelled China's aerospace industry onto the world stage, died on Sunday afternoon in Beijing. He was 102.

Born on December 5, 1915, Ren, the son of an elementary school teacher in Ningguo, Anhui Province, received his doctorate in applied mechanics from the University of Michigan in 1945.

Ren returned to China in 1949 despite receiving an offer to teach at the University at Buffalo.

Throughout the mid-20th century, Ren's fingerprints covered projects from China's first missile to the first artificial satellite and the first human spaceflight.

He designed and launched China's first short-range ballistic missile - Dongfeng-1 - in 1960, then expanded the range and capability of the Dongfeng series, making it the backbone of today's People's Liberation Army Rocket Force. 

In 1970, he worked as a key technical engineer and helped China develop its first artificial satellite, the Dongfanghong-1.

Ren then worked as chief designer of six major space projects in China. In 1999, he was granted the Two Bombs and One Satellite Merit Medal.

After Ren retired, he still paid close attention to the development of China's space industry. In 2003, Ren witnessed Yang Liwei, China's first man in space, lift off the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft into space.

Alongside Tu Shou'e, Huang Weilu and Liang Shounie, Ren is regarded as one of the "Four Elders of China's Aerospace" industry. Ren is the last of the four to pass away. People from the industry remembered him fondly by the moniker "the Chief Chief Engineer".