日本JAXA完成实验性可重复使用火箭RV-X首次短程起降测试

Japan’s space agency conducts first test flight for experimental reusable rocket
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The Reusable Vehicle eXperiment, known as RV-X, is seen in a test launch at the Noshiro Rocket Testing Center of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in Noshiro, northern Japan, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (Naoki Kawano/Kyodo News via AP)
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This photo shows the Reusable Vehicle eXperiment, known as RV-X, at the Noshiro Rocket Testing Center of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, in Noshiro, northern Japan, March 14, 2026. (Muneyoshi Someya/Kyodo News via AP)
By
MARI YAMAGUCHI
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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
H-2A
series, which had a near-perfect success record, but still needs further cost cuts to compete in the global space market.
The Japanese government says a stable, commercially competitive transport capability is key to the country’s space program and national security.
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JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have been co-developing the RV-X, which is 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) in diameter and 7.3 meters (23.9 feet) long and equipped with engines with enhanced durability and four shock-absorption landing gear.
JAXA, which is jointly developing reusable rockets with France and Germany, plans to send the RV-X rocket to a higher altitude of about 100 meters (218 feet) in future test flights.
Yamaguchi is based in Tokyo and covers Japanese politics, security, nuclear energy and social issues for The Associated Press.
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