Japan’s space agency conducts first test flight for experimental reusable rocket

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s experimental reusable rocket took off and safely landed in a first test flight Saturday 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 lifted off, hovered and moved horizontally before landing during its less than one-minute flight at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Noshiro Testing Center in northeastern Japan, which was livestreamed by the NVS, a group of space fans.

JAXA is expected to explain the results in an online briefing later Saturday.

Japan seeks to catch up with the technology 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 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 Read Entire Article