The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has moved to secure reusable rocket technology, signaling a competition with SpaceX.
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 10th, JAXA will conduct a launch test of an experimental reusable rocket on the 11th. The agency aims to secure technology to be applied to the successor of its next-generation H3 rocket, targeting practical use in the early 2030s, with a plan to sharply reduce rocket launch costs.
Reusable rockets are a method in which part of the rocket is recovered after launch and used again. SpaceX, the U.S. space company led by Elon Musk, commercialized the technology in 2017, and its flagship Falcon 9 rocket has succeeded in reusing the same first stage up to 35 times. Reusable rockets can shorten vehicle production time and reduce the use of new materials, offering a significant effect in cutting launch costs.
Nikkei reported that "JAXA has been developing the experimental RV-X since 2016 to secure reusable rocket technology," adding that "it conducted multiple engine combustion tests through 2025, and this is its first test launch." The launch was initially planned for March this year but was postponed due to weather and equipment defects.
This test launch will be conducted at JAXA's Noshiro Rocket Testing Center in Noshiro, Akita Prefecture. The RV-X, which simulates a first-stage rocket designed with reuse in mind, will be launched vertically to a height of about 10 meters, then moved horizontally about 15 meters from the target point before landing. Through this, JAXA will verify vehicle guidance and landing control technology.
It will also test technology to precisely control landing position and speed. Because the recovered vehicle and engine are exposed to high temperatures during launch, JAXA plans to check in stages which metal materials are suitable for reuse and how much maintenance work is required.
In its Basic Space Plan, the fundamental policy for space development, the Japanese government set a goal of sharply reducing rocket launch costs by the early 2040s. The plan is to cut the launch cost per kilogram of satellite to one-tenth of the level of the currently operating H3 rocket, and the practical use of reusable rockets is considered a key means to achieve this. For Japan, which seeks to secure competitiveness in winning overseas satellite launch orders, acquiring reusable rocket technology is seen as an urgent task.
SpaceX leads the global launch vehicle market in the reusable rocket field. Blue Origin, the space company led by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, also succeeded for the first time in April this year in reusing part of a previously used rocket on its large New Glenn rocket. In China as well, several space startups have jumped into developing reusable rockets.
