Portal:Space exploration/Biography/Week 12 2007
Hideo Itokawa (no picture available) (糸川英夫, July 20, 1912 – February 21, 1999) was a pioneer of Japanese rocketry and of the Japanese space program. In Japan, he was popularly known as Dr. Rocket, and he has been described in the media as the father of Japanese space development.
Born in Tokyo, he graduated from the Imperial University of Tokyo in 1935, having majored in aeronautical engineering. During World War II, he was involved in designing aircraft at the Nakajima Aircraft Company and designed the Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa.
The asteroid 25143 Itokawa, named in honor of Itokawa, is notable as the target of the Hayabusa mission