What day is it today? | Tohoku Edition What day is it on September 20th?

The day of the first launch of a domestically produced rocket (Akita Prefecture)

September 20th is considered the "day of the first launch of a domestically produced rocket ."

On September 20, 1957 , the first Kappa 4C sounding rocket, developed by the Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, was launched from the rocket testing site on Michikawa Beach, which was located in what is now Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture . The development was led by Dr. Hideo Itokawa , who is known as the "father of Japanese rocket development . "

The Kappa 4C was 5.93m long and weighed 378kg. It reached an altitude of approximately 45,000m and observed cosmic rays with its onboard Geiger counter

Dr. Itokawa's team began experiments in 1955 with a "pencil rocket" that was approximately 23 cm long. Just two years later, they developed it into a rocket capable of conducting full-scale high-altitude observations

The research conducted at Michikawa Beach was a major step that led to Japan's subsequent space development

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