In a strange spin, Honda, the Japanese vehicle maker, has taken his engineering off -road and the space. The company launched and landed a prototype reusable rocket on Tuesday, June 17, marking a key milestone towards its new goal to achieve the suborbital space flight by 2029.
In the surprise announcementHonda R&D – the company’s investigation arm – said that he successfully completed the first launch and disembarkation test of his 20.6 -foot reusable reusable reusable vehicle (6.3 meters) after reaching an altitude of 271 meters 889 feet at the Taiki tests installation, a city in the north of Japan known by space research. The test aimed to demonstrate essential technologies for the reuse of rockets, such as the stability of the flight during the rise and the descent, as well as the ability to land, according to the company’s statement.
“Although Honda Rocket Research is still in the fundamental research phase and no decisions have been made on the marketing of these rocket technologies, Honda will continue to advance in fundamental research with a technological development objective to carry out a suborbital launch in 2029,” says the statement.
The Japan government has set an ambitious goal to double the size of its space industry up to 8 trillion yen ($ 55.20 million) in the early 2030’s, according to Reuters. To get there, it has established a billionaire space company to subsidize private rockets, satellites and other missions.
Today’s launching and landing success establish an optimistic tone for Honda’s expanding space program. “We are pleased that Honda has taken another step forward in our research on reusable rockets with this completion of a launch and disembarkation test,” said Global CEO Toshihiro Mibe in the ad. “We believe that rocket research is a significant effort that takes advantage of Honda’s strengths.”