Japan’s space agency announced on Saturday that its prototype reusable rocket has successfully completed its inaugural lift-off and landing test, representing a meaningful advance in cost-cutting aerospace technology long dominated by SpaceX.

Launched from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) test site in Noshiro, Akita region, the experimental prototype climbed to a height of about 10 metres (33 feet) before executing a safe touchdown. According to JAXA, the entire flight lasted approximately 40 seconds.

Reflecting on the milestone, JAXA's Takashi Ito, who oversaw the launch, told reporters, "I feel we have put a great deal of time and effort into this, and now that the prototype has taken off and landed without problem, I must say I feel a great sense of relief."

Ito noted that the agency will thoroughly analyze the telemetry data to definitively gauge the success of the trial, though he remains "confident" that the team "obtained very useful data."

The vast majority of current launch vehicles remain single-use, with primary components dropping into the sea, burning up upon atmospheric re-entry, or lingering in orbit as space debris, with the first launch stage serving as the single most expensive component.

Developing partially or fully reusable systems would dramatically slash payload delivery expenses. While SpaceX has maintained operations of its reusable Falcon 9 rockets since 2017, international competition has intensified after China achieved its first successful reusable rocket landing on Friday, a breakthrough poised to challenge US dominance in the sector.

Domestically, the trial follows a June milestone last year when a subsidiary of Honda became the first private Japanese company to successfully launch and land a reusable rocket.

Japan continues to push aggressively to enhance the global market competitiveness of its domestic aerospace manufacturing sector, building on the successful launch of its flagship H3 rocket in June following earlier setbacks in putting orbital satellites into position.

Source: AFP