The T-7 was China's first sounding rocket. A test rocket, dubbed the T-7M, was first successfully launched on 19 February 1960 in Nanhui, Shanghai, and a full-scale rocket was launched on 13 September 1960. Wang Xiji of the Shanghai Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering was the chief designer. Twenty-four T-7 rockets were launched between 1960 and 1965, and it was retired after a final launch in 1969.