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Big First for Japan in Race to Compete With SpaceX
Newser • • business
Key Points:
- Japan's reusable rocket successfully flew 36 feet high and moved 52 feet horizontally while maintaining an upright position, marking progress in developing cost-effective space launch technology.
- The test aims to catch up with SpaceX's reusable rocket technology, which has significantly reduced launch costs, and to develop a lower-cost successor to Japan's single-use H3 rocket series.
- The flight follows China's recent successful recovery of a rocket's first stage, highlighting growing competition in reusable rocket technology among spacefaring nations.
- Japan's H3 rocket, designed to be more cost-effective than its predecessor H-2A, still requires further cost reductions to remain competitive in the global space market.
- JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries co-developed the RV-X reusable rocket, featuring a durable engine tested 165 times, with plans for future flights reaching altitudes near 220 feet.
