The was developed by the Avionics and Supersonic Aerodynamics (AVSA) research group in the early days of the

Japanese space program The Japanese space program ( ja, 日本の宇宙開発) originated in the mid-1950s as a research group led by Hideo Itokawa at the University of Tokyo. The size of the rockets produced gradually increased from under at the start of the proje ...

. A prominent engineer on the project was

Hideo Itokawa was a pioneer of Japanese rocketry, popularly known as "Dr. Rocket," and described in the media as the father of Japan's space development. The near-Earth asteroid 25143 Itokawa was named in honor of Itokawa, and is notable as the target of th ...

. The rocket was first launched on 12 April 1955. The dimensions were 23 cm in length by 1.8 cm in diameter, weighing 200 grams.

Bibliography

External links

Space program of Japan Japanese inventions {{Japan-spacecraft-stub