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.

Test Flight Details

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.

The rocket flew as planned, rising 11 meters and moving horizontally 16 meters while keeping its upright position before landing, according to Takashi Ito, JAXA’s reusable rocket project manager.

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.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.