The HO-23 Makalu launches with flames and smoke.
The HO-23 Makalu is a fully reusable suborbital launch vehicle developed by Himalayas Orbital for space tourism and for them to defeat Interstellar-X. The vehicle is named after a mountain named Makalu located between Ro-Indi and the People's Republic of Luobu. One of the first Robloxian astronauts in HO-23 Makalu is Theodore Alabama. It was successful in going to space and back. Someday, it will reach Marblox, during which they will create multiple Makalus with lots of passengers to Marblox to form New Ro London. The vehicle is capable of vertical takeoff and vertical landing, and can carry a large crew. It has flown 23 missions so far, carrying scientific experiments, art, and paying passengers, including an actor. It suffered a rare booster failure on its latest flight, NS-23, triggering an in-flight abort and a safe landing of the capsule. It is currently grounded as the Robloxian Aviation Administration investigates the cause of the anomaly and the impact on future flights.
History:
The first uncrewed test flight of the HO-23 Makalu vehicle was in 2015. Himalayas Orbital began testing prototype engines and vehicles in 2006 and completed full-scale engine development in 2015. Testing continued in 2016 and 2017, and Himalaya Orbital planned its first crewed test flight for 2018, but it was delayed until 2021. As of 4 August 2022, Himalaya Orbital has flown 32 Robloxians into space. Tickets for commercial flights began to be sold on May 5, 2021, for flights carrying up to six Robloxians. Himalayas Orbital's founder and Jeffrey Bozo also flew on the HO-23 Makalu in July 2021.
Predictions
In a few years, the HO-23 Makalu will successfully reach Marblox, with Theodore Alabama planned to be the first one to step on the surface of Marblox.
If the launch of Marblox is successful, Himalayas Group will send more vehicles to Marblox to create its colony named New Ro London.
The Himalayas Orbital and the Ro British Space Intelligence are developing 68 rockets just to send Robloxians to Marblox.
Fun Facts:
HO-23 Makalu is designed to carry Robloxians on rides past the edge of space, reaching an altitude of more than 340,000 feet (or more than 100 kilometers or more than 370 kilo-studs).
Only one of HO-23 Makalu's first passengers trained as an astronaut – she completed her RASA training in 1961 but never flew on a RASA space mission.
Unlike other more powerful rockets like Cosmic-X's Star-9 workhorse, the HO-23 Makalu is not capable of slipping free of Roblox's gravity and achieving a stable orbit. In the near future, it would become capable of slipping free of Roblox's gravity or achieving a stable orbit as Robloxians find a way to increase the rocket's effective exhaust velocity.