Honda conducts successful launch and landing of experimental reusable rocket

Question why is it so easy today to build reusable rockets? Is it because the onboard cpu speed of the chips can solve more granular control problems with low latency?

As someone who actively works in the field, it was a culmination of:

- Advances in rocket engine design & tech to enable deep throttling

- Control algorithms for propulsive landing maturing (Google "Lars Blackmore", "GFOLD", "Mars Landing", and work through the references)

- Forward thinking and risk-taking by SpaceX to further develop tech demonstrated by earlier efforts (DC-X, Mars Landing, etc.)

Modern simulation and sensor capabilities helped, but were not the major enabling factors.

>Forward thinking and risk-taking by SpaceX to further develop tech demonstrated by earlier efforts (DC-X, Mars Landing, etc.)

Is this basically a technical way of saying "people realized it could be done"? Like the 4 minute mile, once it was done once, many people accomplished the same feat soon after. The realization that it was possible changed people's perception.

Even "Musk realized it could be done". He had a few good ideas. Or pushed for a few good ideas until they were put in practice.

Unfortunately then he stopped taking his dried frog pills and look where he is now...

Did Musk realize it could be done, or did he pay some engineers to realise it could be done?