The reusable experimental rocket of Honda is raised during a successful take -off and landing test on June 17, 2025, in the city of Taiki, Hokkaido, in Japan. The test marks Honda’s first result in the reusable Rockettry and advances its ambitions on the space flight. Credit: Honda
In a bold shift beyond its automotive roots, Honda entered quietly in the space flight Arena, revealing a small experimental rocket capable of vertical take -off and landing.
On June 17 at 16:50 local time, the prototype vehicle was launched by a Honda structure in the city of Taiki, Hokkaido, climbing to about 890 feet (271.4 meters) before descending to an individual landing within 15 inches (37 centimeters) from its point of touchdown target on its flight of 56.6 seconds. According to Honda, the company “has reached the missile behaviors provided for launch and landing … while obtaining data during the rise and descent”.
The milestone marks the first success test of a reusable rocket by a Japanese company. He also puts Honda in a rare company globally, with the United States and China who previously put in place similar vertical missiles.
For Honda, the successful test, announced later that day in a press release, is an ambitious step in the space sector for a company known for efficient engines and vehicles built precisely. The story of Honda’s surprising innovation includes initiatives such as Hondajet, which has become the most light jet most offered in 2017 – and now, apparently, space is the next.
Although the news surprised many, Honda began to seriously pursue Rockettry in 2021, when he announced the intention of developing reusable missiles together with other innovations in space, including what the company calls “a renewable circular energy system on the lunar surface”. Starting from Tuesday, he reached the goal of the reusable rocket. The company now aims to launch a suborbital vehicle by 2029, although the project remains in an initial research phase without decision still not taking whether to market its missile technologies.
Honda states that her missile initiative has been unleashed by the ambitions of young engineers eager to apply the basic technologies of the company – such as combustion systems and advanced control systems – on the space flight. The company sees potential not only in satellite services such as the observation of the earth, but also in the construction of an infrastructure of data and orbital communications that could improve the other Honda companies, including applications such as autonomous driving vehicles and sustainable transport systems.
“We are pleased that Honda has taken another step forward in our research on reusable rockets with this completion successfully with a launch and landing test,” said Toshihiro Mibe, Global CEO of Honda. “We believe that research on the rocket is a significant effort that uses Honda’s technological strengths.”
Mibe frames the Rocket program as part of a wider mission: “Continue to create a new value that will make the time and positioning of the most pleasant people”, whether on the roads, in the air or soon, in orbit.
