In a major breakthrough, Japan's Honda successfully tested a rocket capable of propulsive landing. Reusable rockets are being developed worldwide after SpaceX's success with the Falcon 9, and Honda's rocket flew at the Taiki Aerospace Research Field in Japan's Hokkaido prefecture. The rocket reached an altitude of 300 meters before successfully landing after deploying its landing legs, similar to SpaceX's Falcon 9. Honda aims to reach suborbital space with the rocket in 2029, similar to Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, whose New Glenn rocket regularly flies to suborbital altitudes with crew and cargo.
Honda Successfully Launches & Lands Rocket To Demonstrate Reusable Vehicle
Honda's experimental reusable rocket flew from the Taiki field in the afternoon today. The rocket weighed 1.3 tons with fuel and was 6.3 meters tall. The company says it developed the rocket independently, and today's test was the first time Honda successfully flew and landed a rocket.
As per the details, the rocket reached an altitude of 271 meters and landed within 37 centimeters of its designated touchdown spot. According to Honda, the flight lasted for 56 seconds, and looking at the launch's footage, the mission appeared to be a success as the rocket did not tip over after landing.
Crucially, the footage also shows its landing legs deploying similarly to SpaceX's Falcon 9. The Falcon 9 is the world's only orbital class rocket capable of a propulsive landing. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin aims to establish its New Glenn as the second rocket capable of doing so, as its New Shepard is a suborbital vehicle.
The New Glen regularly flies missions and is Blue Origin's most active launch vehicle. While Honda refrained from sharing details about commercializing its reusable rocket, the firm did add that it aims to achieve suborbital capability with the rocket by 2029. Reusable rockets significantly lower the costs of flying missions as companies simply have to refurbish a vehicle instead of building a new one for each mission.
However, introducing reusability into a rocket also increases development costs, which means that firms have to fly a vehicle several times before breaking even.
According to Honda, it restricted an area within a kilometer radius as part of safety precautions for today's flight. The vehicle was also equipped with a safety system, which prevented it from going off course, and the restricted area covered potential regions of impact from an anomaly.
Mitsubishi, IHI Corporation and Space One are the only companies capable of orbital class spaceflight in Japan. All of their rockets are expendable vehicles, with Mitsubishi's rockets developed in partnership with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), being the backbone of Japanese space launch capabilities.
再使用型ロケット実験機の
離着陸実験に成功 🎉本日、自社開発の再使用型ロケットの実験機を用いて、Honda初となる高度300mまでの離着陸実験を行いました。
今回の成功により、再使用型ロケットの研究段階を一歩進めることができました！… pic.twitter.com/IGxMxZ5RyN
— Honda 本田技研工業 (@HondaJP) June 17, 2025
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