Arrow of Dawn

In the early years of the People's Republic of China, everything was waiting to be rebuilt. In 1957, the exhaust plume of the Soviet R-7 intercontinental missile pierced the skies over Baikonur, while America's Thor rocket roared on the launchpad at Cape Canaveral. Unwilling to fall behind, New China joined the worldwide space race.

In the winter of 1958, a top-secret directive came down from the Central Committee: the First Design Institute was to move to Shanghai and be renamed the Shanghai Electromechanical Design Institute. It would shoulder the mission of developing China's space program and devote itself to the "Project 581 to Reach Space." People from every walk of life in Shanghai joined forces and worked tirelessly, breaking through technological barriers and perfecting sounding rockets to write a powerful chapter in China's space history.

On February 19, 1960, China's first independently developed T-7M sounding rocket ignited and lifted off from the tidal flats of Laogang in Nanhui, Shanghai. As it pierced the clouds, it officially ushered in the development of China's space rockets. From then on, the Chinese nation embarked on its journey to pursue the stars. The arrow of dawn, the light of daybreak, blazed forth with unstoppable force, illuminating the road to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.