Tokyo — Japan’s second-biggest carmaker, Honda, has successfully tested an experimental reusable rocket, the company says, as it seeks to expand into the space sector.
Honda, which hopes to develop the tech prowess for a suborbital launch by 2029, conducted a test flight of its rocket on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
“The test was completed successfully, the first time Honda landed a rocket after reaching an altitude of nearly 300 meters (about 984 feet),” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Honda R&D Co. Ltd.
The prototype device, around six meters (20 feet) tall, landed only 37 centimeters (a little more than a foot) from its designated landing spot after the one-minute flight.
Demand for satellite launch rockets is expected to increase in coming years as expectations grow for “a data system in outer space,” the Honda statement said.
“Honda has chosen to take on the technological challenge of developing reusable rockets by utilizing Honda technologies amassed in the development of various products and automated driving systems,” it said.
In the future, the rockets could be used to set up satellite-based communication tools and monitor environmental conditions such as global warming, Honda added.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is known for its use of reusable rockets — a fast-growing field with various companies worldwide racing to develop their own models.
Japan’s space agency, JAXA, is also on a mission to become a major player for satellite launches, including with its H3 rocket, which isn’t reusable.
Meanwhile, Japanese startups are vying to enter the busy field, including Space One, which in December suffered its second failed rocket launch.
