Honda is entering a new field, as if automobiles, motorcycles, aeronautics, and robotics weren't enough. On Tuesday, June 17, the Japanese company completed the first flight of a 6.4-meter-tall, 1,270-kg rocket capable of staying in the air for one minute. The goal wasn't to go into orbit immediately, but to demonstrate the rocket's ability to follow a precise trajectory, thanks to its technologies, and to land on its four legs. The rocket reached its landing point, within 37 centimeters.
As confirmed by its first experimental flight, Honda aims to develop a reusable launcher that could compete with well-known players like SpaceX and Blue Origin. The brand first addressed the subject in 2021, when it explained that its goal would be to leverage autonomous driving technologies in automobiles to develop the rocket. To provide the means for this, the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) has brought together its national space companies in the city of Taiki Town.
During the 56-second flight, the rocket rose to a height of 270 meters. During the descent phase, the cylinder remained vertical at all times, without any loss of control. Japan is venturing into unfamiliar territory, as no private company in the country has achieved such a feat before. Jaxa is counting on other models, such as the next-generation H3 rocket, which is not a reusable rocket.
"Although Honda's rocket research is still in the basic research phase and no decision has been made regarding the commercialization of these rocket technologies, Honda will continue to advance basic research with the technological development goal of achieving the technological capability for suborbital launch by 2029," Honda wrote in a press release.
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