Honda Launches (And Lands) Rocket Test (Video)

Earlier this week (on 17 June 2025), Honda R&D Co Ltd successfully fired up a test rocket and landed it in the Hokkaido prefecture. This marks an important step towards Japan achieving reusable rocketry. 

The test rocket may not have been particularly large (measuring 6.3 m in height and 85 cm in diameter). However, the control system and hardware will have applicability to future larger prototypes. 

This latest development is a sign of the growing interest from the private sector 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 closely at the linked video, you can see that on descent, control fins are deployed near the top of the rocket to provide attitude control. There is then the mysterious white smoke after the landing - expelled sideways from the top of the rocket. Clearly this is venting off some of the gases from the rocket, possibly excess water vapor/steam to