Japan set to join the re-usable rocket club after Honda sticks a landing Japanese automotive giant Honda has successfully launched and landed a small rocket. Honda operates an R&D unit that pursues space technology and, in 2021, announced its intention to build and fly a re-usable rocket. The company developed a rocket engine and, since 2024, has conducted ignition and hovering tests. That work …
Just like Evil Stupid Musk's Starship, this is an embarrassing failure.
1. Utterly failed to achieve orbit.
2. Utterly failed to take any crew into space.
3. Wasted trillions of U.S taxpayer dollars.
4. Utterly failed to colonise Mars
5. Doesn't bring anything new to science, rockets are an old technology which have been in use for over a century.
6. etc
Thank God! If humans ever developed warp drive or its equivalent (like Immaterium, Jump & Improbability drives), we'd have to exterminate the human race, given what a bunch of crazies humans are. Unfit for company & all that.
Given that 96% of land mammals on Earth are humans and their food animals, the stench if we did that would be overwhelming.
But the wild animal predators would have good eating for a short while.
I was a little concerned at how quickly they released all the unused propellant though. It seemed like the flames had barely gone out when large amounts of gaseous fuel was exhausted directly into the "hot" area. I'm sure they know what they are doing and it was a carefully planed and time dump, but to my untrained eye it looked a bit bum clenching as to whether there was going to be a fireball :-)
Is big enough to test the control systems which are a key part of making this work.
Change the parameters in the relevant tables* and hey presto, 6m test vehicle becomes 60m first stage.
Of course as SX have shown without grid fins this won't have near enough control authority.
Still it's Honda's money, so their choice.
*Bit like re-mapping the engine tables on a cars EMU, but with a bit more of an effect.
According to Wikipedia, Grasshopper was based on a rocket 3.7m diameter and was 32m high. Grasshopper was based on a real Falcon 9 first stage.
According to the article, Honda's rocket is 0.85m diameter and 6.3m tall. Honda are using a very small rocket, not something you'd use for real launches. It's a scaled down prototype.
They actually make a rather nice small jet aircraft. Its still a bit pricey for me but then I don't have a commute.
Many years ago I worked in R&D for a Japanese company. They have a different way of approaching prototypes. Whereas we in the West tend to make prototypes that are early versions of the intended product they made a lot of different prototype products, most of which would never enter production. What they were really making was 'capabilities', exploring different aspects of product design and production and putting the experience aside for later. Then when they decided the market needed a particular product they just reached into their basket of capabilities, grabbed what they needed and made the product. We, the consumer, just got a finished product that rarely had any flaws. What we shipped in the West was really just prototypes -- customers had to put up with stuff being 'not quite right'/. This gave the Japanese quite the competitive edge.
Cultural values are vastly different in Japan. Any sort of failure, perceived or otherwise, is to be avoided at all costs as it brings shame on the whole organisation. This is both a strength and a weakness. A strength in that you just know that products once launched (sic.) will work and work perfectly and keep working perfectly forever. But its a weakness in the modern move-fast-and-don't-give-a-shit-about-the-consequences world because they are so risk averse that they struggle to stay relevant. Personally I'd rather live in the Honda world but I rather fear that won't be an option before too much longer thanks to the global race to the bottom.
"While pleased with the success of the test, Honda hasn’t decided to commercialize its rocket tech but has pledged to continue research with the goal of conducting a sub-orbital mission by 2029."
Technically, they just did a sub-orbital mission. Mission accomplished!
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