Japan successfully launches, lands reusable rocket

NOSHIRO

Japan’s experimental reusable rocket took off and safely landed in a first test flight on July 11 as the country seeks to achieve the technology key to cut launch costs and compete in the global space market dominated by SpaceX.

The RV-X rocket flew as planned, rising 11 meters and moving horizontally 16 meters while keeping its upright position before landing during its less than one-minute flight at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Noshiro Testing Center in northeastern Japan.

Japan seeks to catch up with the technology SpaceX has been using for several years to cut launch costs of delivering payloads into space.

The test flight is a step forward for Japan in achieving the technology needed to develop a lower cost successor to the country’s current mainstay, single-use H3 series.

The flight comes one day after state media in China reported the country achieved its first successful recovery of the first stage of a rocket after a liftoff.

Japan’s H3 rocket is designed to be more cost effective than its predecessor H-2A series, which had a near-perfect success record, but still needs further cost cuts to compete in the global space market.

JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have been co-developing the RV-X, which is 1.8 meters in diameter and 7.3 meters long and equipped with an engine with enhanced durability and four shock-absorption landing gear.

JAXA, which is jointly developing reusable rockets with France and Germany, plans to send the RV-X rocket to a higher altitude of about 100 meters (218 feet) in future test flights.