In February, Lu, 31, and his five-member team launched the 12-meter Shenzhen Pioneer rocket in Qinghai Province, northeastern China, reaching an altitude of 3,700 meters and setting a regional record for liquid rocket launches, according to local media outlet Foshan Plus. The rocket took just 15 days to build in Shenzhen.

Lu, from Jiangxi Province in eastern China, developed an early fascination with chemistry, high-voltage electricity and rockets. As a child, he taught himself basic science and constantly carried out experiments at home, leaving him with multiple injuries.

He once suffered severe burns from corrosive acid, and at age 12, a high-energy materials experiment caused an explosion at home. He survived, but the accident left him with a fractured left hand and forced him to permanently replace the lens in his right eye with an artificial one.

The injuries did not discourage him. Instead, Lu viewed the scars as "honourable medals." "A noble cause requires a spirit of sacrifice," he said.

Lu Yulong, founder of Yulong Aerospace Technology. Photo from Weibo

Despite strong opposition from his parents, the "madman of science," as the South China Morning Post called Lu, continued his research after leaving the hospital, with his father reportedly destroying his home lab many times. He rebuilt the lab each time and later secretly constructed another lab in the countryside, where he studied artificially controlled lightning and invented a speaker that earned a national patent.

His dream of space exploration took shape in secondary school after he watched a video explaining how to build liquid rocket engines. At 17, he dropped out of school and founded Yulong Aerospace Technology in a remote rural courtyard in Shenzhen.

There, he developed what was described as the world’s first electric flame stove, a kitchen device that generates high-temperature plasma flames using electricity. The invention, reportedly valued at 1 billion to 1.5 billion yuan (US$220 million), gave his company major financial support for further research.

In 2016, Lu launched China’s first private liquid rocket. In 2024, his "Legless Bird" sounding rocket completed a successful launch, with each mission costing only tens of thousands of yuan. Lu said his goal is to reduce launch costs to one-tenth of current reusable rockets. On Chinese social media, where he shares updates with 1.4 million followers, many fans call him "China’s version of Elon Musk."

But Lu said the comparison does not reflect his vision. "I focus on low-cost, large-scale industrialisation. At least in cost control, I far surpass him."

According to Yulong Aerospace, launching a 100-kilogram microsatellite costs 350,000 yuan (US$50,000), while Falcon 9, a rocket developed by Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX, remains about five times more expensive even after being reused 10 times.

Lu's long-term goal is to lower the cost of accessing space and help China build a Low Earth Orbit satellite network, a system of satellites operating closer to Earth for communications and data services. His team plans to test a 100-ton engine and rocket by the end of this year and begin commercial launches in 2027. They are also preparing to build a super factory to support the country’s satellite launch ambitions.

One online commenter said Lu’s "madness" comes from his obsession with science.

"He has effectively leveraged China’s manufacturing advantages to carve out a unique path in space exploration, proving that passion and talent are the greatest competitive strengths," the person wrote.