this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2025
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[–] answersplease77@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Honda is cool they build robotics and the best motorbikes in the world per cost

[–] Anomalocaris@lemm.ee 1 points 54 minutes ago

other motorbike, mix up at the factory, enjoy your rocket

[–] Ileftreddit@lemmy.world 18 points 4 hours ago

My buddy’s 2 million mile ‘95 civic says this is a sure bet

[–] 0x0@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 hours ago

Honda giving a whole new meaning to crotch rocket.
Oh wait, it's an actual rocket!

[–] skisnow@lemmy.ca 4 points 5 hours ago

The Top Gear Reliant Robin launch reached 3000ft / 900m, although they were unable to stick the landing.

[–] RadioFreeArabia@lemmy.cafe 79 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Anything that erodes SpaceX's monopoly is good for me

[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 6 points 8 hours ago (3 children)

Unfortunately, the next competitor will be Amazon...

And then we'll see what happens next, getting a whole constellation up is no small feat, I can't see a third company getting a system working before 2050.

[–] GamingChairModel@lemmy.world 5 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

The satellite constellation is the natural consequence of cheaper rockets. It's a true paradigm shift, but the pioneer in this case has only the moat of being able to spend less money per launch. If someone else can deliver payloads to low earth orbit for less than $2,000/kg, then they'll easily be able to launch a Starlink competitor.

[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Again, the only possible player that could do that any time soon is blue origin/Amazon.

Stoke Space is working on a fully reusable rocket though, I'm really impressed with their rocket concept, some very smart design choices were made. They do have working hardware and have demonstrated their core engine. But I have no idea how close they are to first launch tests, I expect it will be a while

[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 6 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Also with starlink even one company's constellation is causing issues with astronomers and launches.

How bad will it be if there are 5-6 different companies with their own network floating around up there. And then other countries with their own network.

[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, it's a bad situation. I'm against monopolies, but I also see how filling the sky with redundant satellites is a terrible plan, so I don't like the idea of lots of competition either.

I think low orbit satellite communications is a pretty awesome concept. It has the potential to become like a second Internet backbone, but a backbone that can bring data directly to users without the additional router hops that local ISPs introduce. On paper, it's amazingly efficient and can distribute service to all of the world... But in practice the business and management side is deeply problematic. One company should absolutely not be in charge of global Internet service. And one country would not be any better.

The only solution I can see is to make it safe and feasible to have way more satellites operating in low earth orbit. I'm really not sure what that solution might look like...

Here's an off-the-cuff idea though: One solution could be an extremely robust low earth orbit maintenance and "pruning" system. All satellites would need to be monitored by third parties. And those third parties would need the authority and ability to quickly deorbit (prune) any satellite that deviates from its exact expected orbit. If satellites can ensure no deviation from their path and can safely maneuver to avoid collisions, it could be possible for many more satellites to safely share an orbital altitude.

[–] ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Deorbiting is all well and good, but more and more we're finding that these satellites contain chemicals that are very disruptive to the ozone layer. It's going to be CFCs all over again, but with even more corporate capture of government.

[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

That's a fair point. The alternative is taking things up to a "graveyard orbit" somewhere between LEO and GSO, to a particularly unpopular altitude, where nobody's fighting for real estate. Satellites can sit there indefinitely, you could even clump them up in a big ball, the tiny pull of gravity they have is actually enough to keep them bunched together.

The only problem with that plan is that it takes a lot of energy to raise an orbit that much, I'm not sure how to make that feasible.

[–] defaultsamson@lemmy.ml 7 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I know Blue Horizon or whatever it's called has had minor success with rockets. What's stopping Honda from out-competing them? Could it be a funding problem? (I know Blue Horizon has a lot of Amazon funding)

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[–] FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au 14 points 8 hours ago

If it had vtech and a fart cannon it would have hit 600m.

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 34 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

This wasn't much more than a toy rocket:

6.3 m in length, 85 cm in diameter,
The test was completed successfully, the first time Honda landed a rocket after reaching an altitude of nearly 300 meters.

But still they were successful on their first try, so we will have to see where they take it from here. 🚀

[–] Sturgist@lemmy.ca 25 points 8 hours ago (8 children)

It's proof of tech. It'd be stupid and wasteful to do all the tests on a full size rocket.

[–] NewSocialWhoDis@lemm.ee 7 points 3 hours ago

You mean like Starship?

[–] moseschrute@lemmy.world 16 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

There’s a YouTube channel called BPS Space where this guy spent 7 years learning how to land a model rocket space x style. He talked about how much you can learn about real rocket science even from a small model.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SH3lR2GLgT0

[–] user_name@lemmy.world 1 points 36 minutes ago

This is the same guy.

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[–] biofaust@lemmy.world 12 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Genuinely curious: how many explosions before the successful test?

[–] torrentialgrain@lemm.ee 15 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Apparently they got it right on the first try.

[–] biofaust@lemmy.world 4 points 7 hours ago

Now that's the real win.

[–] MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 96 points 16 hours ago

Honda built a rocket

Me: of course they did.

They launched the rocket

Me: naturally.

They landed the rocket.

Me: on the first try?

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