Japan's experimental reusable rocket took off and safely landed in a first test flight on Saturday as the country seeks to achieve the technology key to cutting launch costs and competing in the global space market dominated by SpaceX. The RV-X rocket lifted off, hovered, and moved horizontally before landing during its less than one-minute flight at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Noshiro Rocket Testing Center in northeastern Japan, which was livestreamed by the NVS, a group of space fans, per the AP.
The rocket flew as planned, rising 36 feet and moving horizontally 52 feet while keeping its upright position before landing, according to Takashi Ito, JAXA's reusable rocket project manager, in an online briefing from the test center. Japan seeks to catch up with the technology that Elon Musk's SpaceX has been using for several years to cut launch costs of delivering payloads into space. Saturday's flight is a step forward for Japan in achieving the tech needed to develop a lower-cost successor to the country's current mainstay, the 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 it still needs further cost cuts to compete in the global space market. The Japanese government says a stable, commercially competitive transport capability is key to the country's space program and national security.
JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have been co-developing the RV-X, which is 5.9 feet in diameter and nearly 24 feet long, and equipped with an engine with enhanced durability. The "hardworking" engine has so far withstood 165 combustion tests, Ito said. JAXA, which is jointly developing reusable rockets with France and Germany, plans to send the RV-X rocket to a higher altitude of close to 220 feet in future test flights.
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