MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
From Space News:
Japanese carmaker Honda is developing a partially reusable launch vehicle for small satellites with a test launch to be conducted by 2030.
The company unveiled the plan Sept. 30, saying its core automotive technologies for combustion, fluid, remote control and guidance will be applied to the rocket.
This is part of Honda's Vision 2030, under which the Tokyo-based company is also poised to expand its business portfolio into flying cars, also known as electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, multi-fingered avatar robot and energy production on the lunar surface. This multipronged strategy, in turn, could lead to more connected machines — everything from autos to appliances to utilities that are online — and create new services and revenue opportunities in the Earth and outer space.
Honda said it began work in late 2019 on the engineering requirements for a reusable rocket. "This rocket development was initiated by the proposal made by young Honda engineers who wanted to build a small rocket by utilizing core technologies," the company said in a Sept. 30 statement.
The automaker said it will spend 5 trillion yen ($45 billion) on research and development over the next six years, but didn't specify what fraction of that amount will be spent on rocket development. While the rocket's specifications also remain undisclosed, Nikkei Asia reported it would use liquid propellant and be capable of carrying satellites weighing less than 1 ton to low Earth orbit.
Japanese carmaker Honda is developing a partially reusable launch vehicle for small satellites with a test launch to be conducted by 2030.
The company unveiled the plan Sept. 30, saying its core automotive technologies for combustion, fluid, remote control and guidance will be applied to the rocket.
This is part of Honda's Vision 2030, under which the Tokyo-based company is also poised to expand its business portfolio into flying cars, also known as electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, multi-fingered avatar robot and energy production on the lunar surface. This multipronged strategy, in turn, could lead to more connected machines — everything from autos to appliances to utilities that are online — and create new services and revenue opportunities in the Earth and outer space.
Honda said it began work in late 2019 on the engineering requirements for a reusable rocket. "This rocket development was initiated by the proposal made by young Honda engineers who wanted to build a small rocket by utilizing core technologies," the company said in a Sept. 30 statement.
The automaker said it will spend 5 trillion yen ($45 billion) on research and development over the next six years, but didn't specify what fraction of that amount will be spent on rocket development. While the rocket's specifications also remain undisclosed, Nikkei Asia reported it would use liquid propellant and be capable of carrying satellites weighing less than 1 ton to low Earth orbit.
