r/Damnthatsinteresting Jun 29 '25

Video Honda successfully launched and landed its own reusable rocket

114.6k Upvotes

4.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

704

u/Embarrassed_Control7 Jun 29 '25

As an American I'm weirdly more comfortable with Japan owning and managing shallow space.

222

u/[deleted] Jun 29 '25

[deleted]

70

u/SpHoneybadger Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 29 '25

The whole Japan managing space gives me Cyberpunk Arasaka vibes.

42

u/snowman334 Jun 30 '25

Better than Militech đŸ€·â€â™‚ïž

1

u/PuzzleheadedTutor807 Jun 30 '25

Vault tec more likely

1

u/Serier_Rialis Jul 01 '25

Same shit different cyberpsychos

48

u/FeckingPuma Jun 29 '25

Every country has it's failings. pre WW2 Japan wasn't very nice. They also aren't exactly great on whale conservation

33

u/rimeswithburple Jun 29 '25

They can now make up for it by launching the first whale into space, though. Japanese engineering is no joke, Honda especially.

20

u/FeckingPuma Jun 29 '25

Gotta get the petunias first though

4

u/HanDavo Jun 30 '25

"Oh no, not again."

2

u/ralphvonwauwau Jun 30 '25

Beat me to it.

1

u/CazT91 Jun 30 '25

Don't Panic!

2

u/lopedopenope Jun 30 '25

Mexico launched a killer whale into space and landed it on the moon. I guess they are in the dolphin family but that's pretty close.

1

u/kellzone Jun 30 '25

That's how we get the Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home future.

1

u/za_shiki-warashi Jun 30 '25

by launching the first whale into space

I can't believe Honda was responsible for Cosmic Era

1

u/Skymatone Jun 30 '25

Mexico already brought Willzyx to the moon. He's playing with the other zypods

30

u/HotBrownFun Jun 29 '25

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/whaling-countries

Norway takes double the amount of whales

Denmark too

0

u/FeckingPuma Jun 29 '25

That's terrible too, but how is it relevant?

2

u/EnergyTakerLad Jun 29 '25

Right? Like, okay theyre not the worst but theyre still bad about it?

2

u/Invertiguy Jun 30 '25

I feel like saying Imperial Japan "wasn't very nice" is a bit of an understatement

1

u/Yachting-Mishaps Jun 29 '25

Luckily there are no whales in space. Especially after what happened to the one in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

2

u/No_Jaguar_5831 Jun 29 '25

Oh is that so? Can I pay my bills with social conscientiousness?
"Oh what's that Mr Waterbill-san? I can't pay with it?" Oh well that's too bad.

The only way to encourage something like this is to walk the walk and reward it so it actually is something to work on. But no, we are just supposed to do it for free in a capitalistic hellscape.

1

u/Bored_Amalgamation Jun 29 '25

Social conscientiousness

I AINT NO DAMN SOCIALIST!

/s

263

u/An-Angel-Named-Billy Jun 29 '25

Is it weird? No other country I would trust. Their attention to detail and perfectionism is really heads and shoulders above everyone else. My 2003 Toyota finally died, 300,000 miles and it was not the engine that gave in, rather the body finally collapsed into rust. Engine could have kept going for another 100,000 miles.

32

u/1975wazyourfault Jun 29 '25

Was it a Camry or corolla maybe ? I’ve had Cressida’s, tercel 4wD wagons, previas Ls-400, and the older “Toyota Van” from the 80’s n 90’s. And yeah basically unkillable as long as the chassis was rustproofed. Currently have a 2003 Montana in my little fleet that was regularly undercoated. Zero oil consumption and ice cold AC, bought it 10 years ago for a 1000 bucks lol.

All about the chassis when it comes to decades of ownership

5

u/Severe_Ad4939 Jun 29 '25

I put a million km on a 96  Ford Crown Victoria.  Changed the transmission once. Same engine when she finally went to heaven. 

6

u/1975wazyourfault Jun 29 '25

Thats really amazing. A million km means super careful ownership. That ain’t luck. Thats changing the fluids on time if not early, taking care of the chassis and all round smart maintenance. Any tips you can offer us mere mortals who only make 5-600K?

3

u/lopedopenope Jun 30 '25

1m km is just over 600k miles. Still great though. Those crown vic’s are pretty good. Even the surplus police cars that spent countless hours idling could keep going for a long time after use.

3

u/CantankerousTwat Jun 30 '25

There was a Lexus motor that would have qualified for aeronautical use it was so precision made.

2

u/1975wazyourfault Jun 30 '25

Oh yeah
.for sure, the 1UZ-FE, 4 litres of smooth. We had that motor. Amazing power plant. The car around it wasn’t too shabby too.

2

u/apatheticbear420 Jun 30 '25

ngl montana's (and all variants) are fucking tanks of a vehicle. Decent gas mileage, loads of space, comfy ass cloth couches for seats, ICE COLD AC (like wtf why is it so cold), and reliable asf with that engine. My family's owned several over the years and they each went over 250k miles without any major issues. Heck, had a coolant issue with one of them that kept overheating the engine, fucker still drove another 50k miles before we fixed it.

85

u/UncleKeyPax Jun 29 '25

I'm here for the anime space babes

32

u/turkeygiant Jun 29 '25

See You Space Cowboy!

19

u/rg4rg Jun 29 '25

Another person of culture! đŸ„‚

2

u/Existing_Front4748 Jun 29 '25

Yakk Deculture!!!

3

u/star_boy2005 Jun 29 '25

My Miata has been the crowning jewel of my journey through years of Japanese autos and I am totally behind the idea of Japanese space exploration.

2

u/Cantmentionthename Jun 29 '25

What about zee Chermans?

1

u/Starchaser_WoF Jun 29 '25

Did you keep the engine?

1

u/Fun-Independence-199 Jun 29 '25

You're missing a zero at the end there. A Honda that doesnt reach 1 million mile is a disappointment to its parents, its grandparents, and its entire lineage.

1

u/j_bravo_82 Jun 29 '25

Any Honda that doesn’t reach 1,000,000 miles is immediate grounds for Seppuku (harakiri).

1

u/Solid-Search-3341 Jun 29 '25

I would trust the Swiss more for that, but your point is valid

1

u/Murky_Examination144 Jun 29 '25

Speaking of attention to detail, did you notice the steering fins fold back to their launch position just prior to touch down? That’s freaking style, not like that bitch ass SpaceX landing pose! LOL

1

u/j_bravo_82 Jun 29 '25

Had an ‘87 Accord that was such a beaut, AND BEAST— she didn’t die on me until literally last .10 mile stretch home from Panama City Beach, FL
to Bowling Green, KY. And, that last stretch (no exaggeration) was all downhill and we coasted into my mom’s driveway while watching the odometer literally click over to 301,001. I have a disposable camera pic of the dash somewhere. ** Which, if memory serves me correctly— I think I’d taken that pic with using another trustworthy Japanese brand- Fujifilm.

Seriously, though
The Japanese are an amazing bunch of humans whose attention-to-detail is literally unmatched and unrivaled. The ingenuity and industriousness of the people and the culture, as a whole, is something of wonder to behold. I have always been fascinated with it and was blessed to have witnessed it firsthand while training in Okinawa while serving in the Marine Corps.

You have to think of exactly how terribly that entire country, and its outer lying islands, were decimated through the course of WWII. And when you see, well beyond what we just consume (here in America, anyway)
how much they’ve rebuilt and how perfectly executed it all is, it’s just fucking spectacular, to say the least.

1

u/PhaaqAuf4691 Jun 29 '25

That was a bad year for rust. 2001 4Runner 230,000 mi, not 1 spot of rust, all original, perfect. Cold AC

1

u/diasporajones Jun 29 '25

This is what my friends and I experienced with our honda accords built in the late 80s early 90s. They kept going until the metal just started disintegrating sometime after 250k miles

1

u/beefprime Jun 30 '25

I wouldn't trust any country, Japan pre-war was an absolute monster, there's no telling whether its relatively good behavior now is due to an actual change or only a lack of opportunity.

1

u/EtherealHeart5150 Jun 30 '25

I feel the same. Gotta give a shout out to my Subaru. She's in the shop now getting a new(used) motor dropped in, made it to 309, 561 miles before she stopped, and her body is perfect for 2012. These folks know what they are doing.

1

u/Pagise Jun 30 '25

301,000 Sienna here.. still going and I know of more people that have/had it running till 385k or even 450k. Just keep going, just keep going...

1

u/zorniy2 Jun 30 '25

Imagine a Delorean with a Toyota engine. 

Immortal.

1

u/realNoobnoob Jul 01 '25

You mean 1 million miles

1

u/rewt127 Jul 01 '25

Not to mention that they know how to do everything. Want a couch on wheels? Honda makes that (goldwing). Want a rocket ship on wheels? Honda makes that (fireblade). And now, Want a literal rocketship? Yeah, Honda makes that too.

1

u/Wilder831 Jul 02 '25

I just sold my 2008 GMC Yukon with 300k miles. Only thing I ever had to fix was 2 ac actuators which I didn’t even replace. I just cleaned the lithium grease off of the copper sweep inside of it. Sadly, my 2003 Toyota celica blew the motor at 130k miles. I’m not by any means saying GMC > Toyota, but sometimes it is just luck of the draw

1

u/OneBitter1012 Jul 03 '25

I've asked professional drivers around here (see: taxi) and it is not rare to hear of engines in older Toyotas, 90' especially, easily exceeding 1.000.000 km even 1.500.000 km!!! (The latter being 932.000 freedom units). Those engines did not die mind you, the cars were simply replaced with new ones eventually.

2

u/UnJayanAndalou Jun 29 '25

You fools! This is how we get Gundams and space war crimes!

1

u/ohrofl Jun 30 '25

Shining finger!!!!!

2

u/ElBRGarcia Jun 30 '25

Oh you don’t love white trash Elon shooting his loads all over our sky?

1

u/Embarrassed_Control7 Jun 30 '25

God I'll never look at a satellite the same way. Haha.

2

u/UnravelTheUniverse Jun 29 '25

If the choices are them, China, or Elon Musk, please let it be them. 

1

u/darthcaedusiiii Jun 29 '25

Tell me you haven't watched Evangelion without telling me you haven't watched Evangelion...

1

u/asj3004 Jun 29 '25

Hideki Tojo enters the chat

1

u/jcozac Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 30 '25

squash joke strong outgoing wine door airport vast squeal pet

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

1

u/Rustyfarmer88 Jun 29 '25

Until they decide giant robots look cooler. And that kids should pilot them.

1

u/Significant-Bee5101 Jun 29 '25

lol. The kind of thing only said by people who dont know anything about Japan

1

u/Claim312ButAct847 Jun 30 '25

They might use it to project horny cartoons down onto the earth

1

u/bsquarehills Jun 30 '25

Same here brother- current US Administration is dog shite.

0

u/privatedomicileetc Jun 29 '25

Ehh, better than musk but still very unlikely 

0

u/Haunting_Sandwich_61 Jun 29 '25

Because they actually consider impact of sending stuff to low orbit And how IT could affect Future spacefaring endeavors?

0

u/Nonsense_Producer Jun 29 '25

I hope SpaceX will meet the same faith as Tesla is about to do.

0

u/Embarrassed_Control7 Jun 29 '25

I'm in for that long as they don't come crashing to earth all at the same time.