One of the world’s most famous car companies is also one of its newest space companies. This week, Honda’s own research and development team announced a successful test of a launch and landing system for a reusable rocket. The project is the first of its kind for the company, which used the test to demonstrate its ability to launch and land a rocket that traveled more than 300 feet in the air.

This wasn’t a remote test, either. The operation was done at Honda’s Taiki Town facility, which is becoming one of Japan’s premier spaces and aerial development centers. A 20-foot rocket reached 890 feet in the air before coming down and landing just 37 centimeters from its target.

This wasn’t an accident. That was precision engineering.

That’s not the only proof of precision. The rocket’s rocket legs that supported the launch were designed to extend during liftoff and then retract to guide the vehicle back to the ground.

All told, the rocket was about 21 feet tall and weighed over 2,800 pounds at launch. The test flight lasted 56.6 seconds, which was enough time for the vehicle to take off vertically, remain stable in flight, and return to the launch pad in the same location.

It’s not what you would expect from a company whose main expertise has been road vehicles. Yet, the result suggests that Honda isn’t experimenting with these ideas. It’s producing actual spaceflight hardware with a lot of potential.

The road to space isn’t unfamiliar territory for Honda. The company announced its intention to pursue space technology development late last year. But most of the company’s progress since then has been relatively low-key. Now, after years of silent development, the first signs of what’s been happening behind the scenes are emerging.

The key difference between Honda and other companies isn’t what the firm is creating. It’s what it’s using. Instead of building its own rocket technology ecosystem from the ground up, Honda is taking advantage of its own existing technologies. Its automated driving systems, for example, are playing a key role in the rocket project. The same kind of precision control that drives a self-driving car is helping the rocket take off vertically, fly horizontally, and land on the ground in exactly the right place.

It’s a cross-sector application that makes a lot of sense — and it seems to be working.

The rocket isn’t just a showpiece. Honda is positioning itself to become a more significant player in the future where satellites and space infrastructure will be integral to many business processes. Whether it’s data transfer, navigation, or communications, having access to the upper atmosphere is more valuable than ever before.

While this rocket is in the very early research stages, the success of this test suggests the direction the company is heading. Honda is planning to launch its own small-scale launch systems to support a growing number of satellites launching into orbit — a development that would tie into the company’s car, robotics, and communication technology businesses.

Ultimately, Honda’s vision for the future includes aiming for suborbital flight. This refers to rockets that travel beyond 62 miles (or 100 kilometers) above sea level, which is the generally accepted boundary of space. These flights won’t remain in orbit. But they’ll break through the atmosphere — which is an engineering challenge in and of itself.

Reaching that point will require not only a new propulsion system, but control and guidance as well. A successful suborbital flight would prove that Honda has all three. However, placing a satellite into orbit requires more than simply traveling above the atmosphere. It requires a new launch vehicle, guidance system, and potentially new payload technology as well.

There’s a lot more development required before reaching that point. Honda hasn’t announced plans to commercialize its rocket program. But the fact that it reached this point suggests that the company could reach this next stage relatively quickly.

That doesn’t just apply to the rocket, either. The launch site, Taiki Town, isn’t just a back-drop. The region has been positioning itself as a hub for aero and space development. Located in Hokkaido, the area has partnered with private companies and national entities like JAXA to build testing facilities, support centers, and even training programs.

With Honda joining the list of real-world experiments, Taiki Town is becoming one of Japan’s most vital spaces and aero development centers.

It’s a long way from there. Honda is entering a competitive field that’s led by established players like SpaceX and Blue Origin, which have huge amounts of resources and decades of experience in the launch industry. What Honda brings is something different. It’s not just manufacturing efficiency. It’s robotics and mobility technology — which could provide the company with an advantage as it develops further.

This week’s test wasn’t just a one-off experiment. It was a sign that Honda is preparing for a much more extensive journey.