Science JAXA successfully tests reusable rocket

[thomas]

Japan's space agency successfully tested a prototype reusable rocket in the country's northeast on Saturday, a step towards lowering the cost of future launches. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said its RV-X rocket flew for about 40 seconds at a test site in Noshiro, Akita Prefecture. It reached a maximum height of around 11 metres, travelled roughly 16 metres horizontally and then landed safely.

Photo credit: Kyodo and JAXA

U.S. company SpaceX has commercialised reusable rocket technology with its two-stage Falcon 9 rocket. JAXA said it will use the results of Saturday's test for the design of its Callisto reusable vehicle, being jointly developed with France and Germany. A flight test of the Callisto vehicle, which is equipped with the same engine as the RV-X, is scheduled before next April, with the aim of attempting a landing from a greater height than Saturday's test. According to JAXA, the RV-X measures around 7.3 meters in length and about 1.8 meters in diameter. It has four landing legs. Given that the H3 rocket, the country's mainstay space vehicle, can only be used once, Japan has been seeking to develop reusable technology to increase satellite launches while reducing costs. Last year, Honda R&D Co., a subsidiary of automaker Honda Motor Co., conducted a successful flight test of a reusable rocket, the first such test by Japan's private sector.

Japan successfully launches and lands reusable rocket

The prototype, launched from JAXA’s test site in Noshiro, Akita Prefecture, reached a height of about 10 meters, and then landed.

www.japantimes.co.jp

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Japan space agency conducts successful reusable rocket test flight

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