Anything that erodes SpaceX's monopoly is good for me
this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2025
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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.
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.
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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.
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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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My buddy’s 2 million mile ‘95 civic says this is a sure bet
TIL that honda has its own web domain
TLD*
But yes, same here.
Honda is cool they build robotics and the best motorbikes in the world per cost
other motorbike, mix up at the factory, enjoy your rocket
Honda built a rocket
Me: of course they did.
They launched the rocket
Me: naturally.
They landed the rocket.
Me: on the first try?
It seems crazy that a company that's only really known for cars, motorbikes, tuning forks, heat pumps, brake pads, pens, tractors, fertilizer, display panels, outboard motors, pneumatic systems, oil tankers, furniture, locomotives, bricks, solar panels, ATVs, generators, hot air balloons, dinghies, hydrogen fuel cells, submarines, crop dusters, jet engines, cultivators, hedge trimmers, lawnmowers, precision optics and robots would suddenly pivot to rockets.
It's almost like they're an engineering company.
Crazy, right?
To be fair to Honda, they are doing what is expected of any companies in a capitalist system, actually innovate and diversify in order to remain competitive. Most other companies would rather stick to their traditional products and services, even if those products and services are written on the wall that they are becoming obsolete.
Also a very capable downhill bike that was using a gearbox well before it got popular
The impressive part is that they are also known for being reliable, there are the occasional issues, but overall very trustworthy products.
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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. 🚀
It's proof of tech. It'd be stupid and wasteful to do all the tests on a full size rocket.
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.
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This is the first I have heard they were doing this. Makes spacex accomplishments less impressive. Fuck elon
I imagine they poached a lot of Spacex engineers by simply telling them “we won’t make you work ungodly hours, nor will we subject you to a narcissistic manchild with no engineering education dropping in on your meetings and trying to tell you how to do your job”
You do realize it’s Japan right? China, Japan, Korea all have work life balance issues.i wouldn’t want to work 996 or 007 lol
We would like to contact you for job offer in the same role as your current.
We cant pay you as much per hour but we can give you more hours to match it.
“Promise me i wont ever have to deal with Musk and i am in”
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You have it the wrong way round. SpaceX's accomplishments are impressive despite Elon.
Well, Honda is actually a competent company.
Hell yes. Any competition to musk is very much needed.
Go Honda.
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Honda giving a whole new meaning to crotch rocket.
Oh wait, it's an actual rocket!
I hope they crush SpaceX one day.
By landing on them.
If it had vtech and a fart cannon it would have hit 600m.
Of all the manufacturing companies, I would expect nothing less from Honda.
Genuinely curious: how many explosions before the successful test?
The all new Honda space Odyssey! It has a great V6 rocket engine with a 6000 million mile timing belt. After that you can buy one at amazon but it lasts 4 miles or 6 minutes.
The Top Gear Reliant Robin launch reached 3000ft / 900m, although they were unable to stick the landing.
An alternative to starlink would be great.
An alternative to.space junk clogging up the sky would indeed be nice.
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Since when is Honda a rocket company? This is literally the first im hearing about this. They kept this quiet for a while, and im not sure why.
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