Why are carmakers building rockets?
The world's largest carmakers are starting to build rockets for space missions. Carmakers including Toyota, Geely, and Honda are using their expertise in engineering, manufacturing, and automation to contribute to the growing space economy. Their goal is to send satellites into space at low cost and create new sources of income.
Japanese carmaker Honda has already achieved an important milestone by successfully sending a reusable rocket into space. The company successfully launched the reusable rocket from its own launch site in Taiki last month. According to Honda, the 6.3-metre-long and 1,312-kilogram rocket was able to land accurately at a specific location. In addition to achieving rocket launch capabilities, Honda also plans to send satellites into space.
Toyota, Japan's biggest car company, wants to get more involved in the space industry. For this, the company wants to build rockets through its subsidiary Oven by Toyota. Toyota has already started working on a cost-effective launcher system for launching rockets. The company has also made the Lunar Cruiser, a crewed moon rover that can go to the moon, in addition to the rocket.
Geely, a Chinese car company, is one of the companies working on space missions. Geespace is the company responsible for manufacturing satellites used by Volvo and Lotus. Hyundai Motor is putting money into robotics and AI for future space missions.
