Honda Built a Rocket. Turns Out it's Extremely Accurate!
Honda has completed its first successful launch and landing of a reusable rocket, hitting its target with sub-metre precision and edging closer to a future in space tech.
Honda’s R&D arm has ticked off a significant milestone in its ongoing rocket programme, completing a controlled launch and landing of an experimental reusable rocket in Hokkaido, Japan.
The test vehicle, developed entirely in-house, reached an altitude of 271.4 metres before landing just 37cm from its designated target point. The entire flight lasted 56.6 seconds, and the rocket, measuring 6.3m in length and weighing 900kg dry (1,312kg wet), remained within a pre-defined flight corridor throughout the mission.
This marks the first time Honda has recovered a rocket following vertical takeoff, with the test designed to evaluate key elements of reusability, including flight stability, landing accuracy, and onboard safety systems.
The launch was carried out in Taiki Town, Hokkaido, where Honda has been conducting combustion and hovering tests since 2024. As with previous testing, safety was a central concern. The team established a restricted zone with a 1km radius around the site, deploying physical barriers, signage, and security personnel to keep the area clear. The size of the exclusion zone was calculated based on government safety guidelines, accounting for worst-case scenarios including unplanned descent or onboard explosions.
The rocket was equipped with an integrated safety system to prevent deviation from a defined flight corridor and ensure no impact beyond the restricted area.
Honda’s rocket project has its roots in a 2021 initiative to explore space as a proving ground for core technologies. The programme draws from the company’s expertise in combustion, control systems, and automated driving, and the team are now looking to apply this knowledge to satellite launches and renewable energy systems for use in space.
While the project remains in its fundamental research phase, Honda has outlined a technology roadmap targeting suborbital launches by 2029. The company says it sees potential in reusable rockets to support sustainable transportation and the increasing demand for satellite data infrastructure.
Global CEO Toshihiro Mibe commented on the test, saying:
“We are pleased that Honda has made another step forward in our research on reusable rockets with this successful completion of a launch and landing test. We believe that rocket research is a meaningful endeavour that leverages Honda’s technological strengths.”
For now, there’s no timeline for commercial applications, but Honda’s space programme appears to be gathering momentum—and altitude.
So, Triumph has the Rocket 3, and Honda has an actual rocket! I wonder if they'll get Rocket Ron Haslam back on board to help develop it...
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
