Honda Achieves Milestone in Spaceflight with Successful Reusable Rocket Test
TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda has achieved a significant milestone in its quest for suborbital spaceflight with a successful launch and landing test of its prototype reusable rocket on Tuesday. The Japanese company, in a surprise announcement, said the test, conducted at its Taiki test facility in northern Japan, marked a crucial step towards its 2029 goal.
The 6.3-metre (20.6-foot) experimental reusable launch vehicle reached an altitude of 271 metres (889 feet) before successfully landing, according to Honda R&D, the research arm of Japan's second-biggest carmaker. While no decisions have been made regarding the commercialization of these rocket technologies, Honda vows to continue making progress in fundamental research with the aim of realizing a suborbital launch by 2029.
A suborbital launch touches the edge of outer space but does not enter orbit. The company believes that studying launch vehicles has the potential to contribute more to people's daily lives by launching satellites with its own rockets, leading to various services that are also compatible with other Honda business.
Reusable launch vehicles have been a driving force behind emerging commercial space missions over the past decade, led by SpaceX's Falcon 9. Other U.S. rivals such as Blue Origin and companies in China and Europe also have reusable rocket plans.
Meanwhile, Tokyo-based startup Innovative Space Carrier announced last month that it will test-launch a prototype reusable rocket in the United States in December using an American engine. Honda's rival Toyota, the world's biggest automaker by sales, earlier this year announced an investment in Taiki-based rocket maker Interstellar Technologies to support mass production of launch vehicles.
Japan's government has established a multibillion-dollar space venture fund to subsidize private rockets, satellites, and other missions, aiming to double the size of its space industry to 8 trillion yen ($55.20 billion) by the early 2030s.
($1 = 144.9200 yen)
Congratulations to Honda for marking a significant milestone in the realm of spaceflight with their successful test-launching and reusability demonstration, showing potential game changing capabilities.
A remarkable achievement for Honda, soaring past milestones in spaceflight with the successful test of its reusable rocket – a monumental leap towards sustainable exploration.
