Honda launches (and lands) rocket test

Earlier this week (on 17 June 2025), Honda R&D Co Ltd successfully fired up a test rocket and landed it in Hokkaido prefecture.

This marks a step towards other nations achieving reusable rocketry. Whilst the test rocket may not be large (measuring 6.3 m in height and 85 cm in diameter), there's no doubt the control system and hardware will be applicable to larger prototypes. This latest development is just a sign of the growing private sector interest in South East Asia, hot on the heels of other private Japanese ventures such as ispace as well as Korean companies such as Hanwha.

Looking more closely at the video, you can see that on descent, control fins are deployed near the top of the rocket to provide attitude control. The white "smoke" on landing from the top of the rocket suggests the venting of some gases, possibly to prevent an uncontrolled unreleased in case the rocket did not stay in the upright position after landing. Read the full press release here.

It looks like the UK will have increasing competition to develop launchers and enable national access to launch critical space infrastructure. In the future, perhaps Hokkaido will not only be known for its fantastic diary products, but also for future rocket launches! Will it compete with Japan's more southerly launch sites in Tanegashima?

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