Honda sets up dedicated business in US to tap into space boom

[DETROIT] Honda Motor has created a space business unit in the US to promote its technology and spur more collaboration with American companies.

The Japanese automaker, which is a relatively new but ambitious player in the space business, said on Friday (Apr 4) it set up a Space Development Division at its American Honda subsidiary late last year.

The new division will work with the company’s Japan-based Space Strategy Office to “leverage Honda core technologies and apply them to the expansion of human activities and development on the lunar surface”, it said. Honda did not disclose how many people are assigned to the unit or how much of a budget the division has.

The Tokyo-based manufacturer began work in 2019 on the engineering requirements for a reusable rocket, and is working with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to build a renewable energy system on the moon.

Honda said it plans to test that system on the International Space Station in partnership with closely held US startups Sierra Space and Tec-Masters. BLOOMBERG