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
Just wait until they add VTEC to it
Was that a sonic boom? Nah, rev limiter!
Could have been the blowoff valve for the turbo! Or a shitty muffler delete on a nearby Infiniti
The aftermarket spoiler market for these will be huge.
I expect we’ll see SpaceX rockets with VTEC stickers trying to masquerade as performance rockets.
This must terrify Musk and his SpaceX
It pleases me.
I doubt that. Spacex is miles ahead of the rest and they have bigger plans.
Sure they would rather have a monopoly on cheap rockets for as long as possible but they have always known people would be trying to catch them up
Yes, but Honda also builds nice things. They’re not the neighbors you want moving in next door if your business is making reliable and precise things cheaply.
Maybe it doesn’t matter because SpaceX just lies on all their bids anyways
I don’t believe they have even hit space yet, the test was only from 1000 ft.
Still, cool as hell.
Wait. This is just more commodification of space.
Fuck that. And I will be against it until we figure out our fucking shit down here on the ground.
Now that’s a diversification I didn’t see coming. Not bad.
Time to invest in Honda.
Ehh they have an engine market problem. I’ve seen analysis that Honda isn’t a car company, they’re an engine company - cars, generators, lawn mowers, pumps, a whole whack of industrial things. They really need to shift to electric motors but even then it’s not a 1 for 1.
About time. Took the market long enough. Bloody hell, it’s like capitalism literally handed Musk this business on a golden platter.
I love that space travel is becoming so democratized now.
It shouldn’t just be governments, it shouldn’t just be private companies, it should be anyone with the wherewithal to figure the technology out.
I like Honda, you can drive those cars into the ground, they just keep going.
Honda is the complete opposite of Leon Hitler and his Space X BS.
Annnnnnnnnnnnd everyone else just been replaced.
Fuck yeah!
Great first step but the vast majority of the work still needs to be done. There’s a big difference in getting 300m to the air and back and low earth orbit but Honda is an excellent candidate to get it done.
