Honda says growing expectations of a “data system in outer space” are going to increase the demand for rockets to launch satellites. So, the Japanese automaker quietly built one and tested it successfully.
Japan’s second-largest carmaker, Honda, has successfully tested an experimental reusable space rocket on the nothern Japanese island of Hokkaido, the company said in a surprise announcement.
“The test was completed successfully, the first time Honda landed a rocket after reaching an altitude of nearly 300 meters (1,000 feet),” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
The carmaker aims to achieve suborbital space flight in 2029. In 2021, Honda said it was studying space technologies such as reusable rockets but made no announcements prior to Tuesday’s test
Modern rockets have only been a thing for 70 years. 8 years is nothing. That would be like saying Rivian or Tesla can’t compete with Ford because they haven’t been making cars as long. Tesla didn’t have to spend a decade making the Model A or T before it figured out how to make cars effectively. Honda will also be able to spend less time making it to orbit than SpaceX did.