Honda conducts surprise reusable rocket test, aims spaceflight by 2029

Signage displayed at the Honda Motor Co. headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg (Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg)

TOKYO — Honda succeeded in a launch and landing test of its prototype reusable rocket on Tuesday, the Japanese company said in a surprise announcement, marking a milestone towards its 2029 goal of achieving a suborbital spaceflight.

Honda R&D, the research arm of Japan’s second-biggest carmaker, successfully landed its 6.3-meter (20.6-foot) experimental reusable launch vehicle after reaching an altitude of 271 meters (889 feet) at its test facility in northern Japan’s space town Taiki, according to the company.

While “no decisions have been made regarding commercialization of these rocket technologies, Honda will continue making progress in the fundamental research with a technology development goal of realizing technological capability to enable a suborbital launch by 2029,” it said in a statement.

Honda in 2021 said it was studying space technologies such as reusable rockets, but it has not previously announced the details of the launch test. A suborbital launch may touch the verge of outer space but does not enter orbit.

Studying launch vehicles “has the potential to contribute more to people’s daily lives by launching satellites with its own rockets, that could lead to various services that are also compatible with other Honda business,” the company added.

Reusable launch vehicles have been the driver of emerging commercial space missions over the past decade, led by SpaceX’s Falcon 9, while its U.S. rivals including Blue Origin and companies in China and Europe also have reusable rocket plans.

Tokyo-based startup Innovative Space Carrier last month said 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 by its research arm 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, targeting to double its space industry’s size to 8 trillion yen (US$55.20 billion) by the early 2030s.

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; editing by David Evans)