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Stoke Space

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Stoke Space
Company typePrivate
IndustrySpace
Founded2020; 4 years ago (2020)
FoundersAndy Lapsa, Tom Feldman
Headquarters
Kent Edit this on Wikidata
ProductsNova reusable launch vehicle
Number of employees
125+[1]
Websitehttps://www.stokespace.com/

Stoke Space Technologies is an American space launch company based in the Seattle suburb of Kent, Washington.

History

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The company was founded by a group of former Blue Origin and SpaceX employees.[2] In May 2020, the company won a $225,000 SBIR Phase I grant from the National Science Foundation to work on an integrated propulsion solution for reusable rocket upper stages.[3] In February 2021, the company raised $9.1 million in seed funding in a round led by venture funds NFX Guild and MaC Venture Capital.[2] In December 2021, the company raised $65 million in a Series A round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures,[4] funding development and testing of the upper stage of a reusable launch vehicle.[5]

In 2022, the company created a prototype of their second stage engine ring. Their prototype had at least 22 static fires in total.

Stoke Space Stage Two Engine Prototype from 2022
Stoke Space Stage Two Engine Prototype from 2022

In 2023, Stoke Space had an interview with Tim Dodd (also known as The Everyday Astronaut), wherein the CEO Andy Lapsa revealed their plan to create a fully and rapidly reusable orbital rocket.[6]

In the first months of 2023, Stoke Space finished the construction of Hopper1, a full-scale second stage prototype, intended to test fluid mechanics in the vehicle. On March 8, 2023, the company was given LC-14 in Florida as a future launch pad for their vehicles.[7] On March 18, Stoke Space's second stage conducted a Wet Dress Rehearsal, where the company loaded both Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen into the stage's tanks, preparing it for launch without igniting the engines.[8]

On September 17, 2023, Stoke Space conducted a 10 meter "hop" test of "Hopper2", testing their unique differential steering method.

Stoke Space Hopper2 Test Vehicle
Stoke Space Hopper2 Test Vehicle

In 15 seconds, the vehicle ignited its 15 thrust chambers (half of the amount used on the operational vehicle), lifted 30 feet off the ground, showed its ability to steer without gimballing the engine like traditional rockets, and tested the actively cooled heat shield before successfully landing under three landing struts.[9] In October 2023, Stoke Space announced a $100 million Series B funding round led by Industrious Ventures.[10]

In April 2024, the company announced it had completed assembly and installation of a first stage engine for test firing.[11] In May 2024, the company announced significant construction progress in their engine test firing stand.[12] The first successful hot fire of the Stoke Space Full Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC)) Engine reported in June 2024.[13]

Facilities

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The company operates a rocket test facility on a 75-acre (30 ha) site near Moses Lake's airport.[14]

Technology

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This section is an excerpt from Stoke Space Nova.[edit]

Nova is a fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicle being developed by Stoke Space.[15] Announced in October 2023,[16] Stoke Space plans to use two stages with an expected payload capacity of 5 tons (5,000 kg) to low Earth orbit (LEO), with the first stage performing a return-to-launch-site (RTLS) landing. The company plans to use 7 conventional full-flow staged combustion rocket engines, burning methalox. The second stage will use a hydrolox (liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen) engine with 30 thrust chambers ringing a regeneratively cooled heatshield,[17] eliminating the need for thermal tiles.[18][19] A center passive bleed in the second stage aims to create an aerospike engine-like effect for improved efficiency.

The vehicle was selected as part of the Space Force's Orbital Services Program.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Berger, Eric (June 11, 2024). "Stoke Space ignites its ambitious main engine for the first time". Ars Technica. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Stoke raises seed round to work on fully reusable rockets". February 25, 2021.
  3. ^ "Relativity and Reach, Stoke and Starfish: Blue Origin veterans spark space startups". September 10, 2020.
  4. ^ Berger, Eric (December 17, 2021). "Rocket Report: SpaceX plans a Falcon 9 flurry, Bill Gates buys into rockets". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023.
  5. ^ "Stoke Space raises $65 million for reusable launch vehicle development". December 15, 2021.
  6. ^ Sesnic, Trevor (February 4, 2023). "Full Reusability By Stoke Space". Everyday Astronaut. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  7. ^ Boyle, Alan (March 8, 2023). "Godspeed, Stoke Space! Rocket startup gets John Glenn's launch pad at the Cape". GeekWire. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  8. ^ Bradbury, Brent (August 23, 2023). "Stoke Space's Next Development Test Series: Hopper2". Stoke Space / 100% reusable rockets / USA. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  9. ^ Bradbury, Brent (September 18, 2023). "Update on Hopper2: The Hopper Has Landed". Stoke Space / 100% reusable rockets / USA. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  10. ^ Foust, Jeff (October 6, 2023). "Stoke Space raises $100 million for reusable rocket development". SpaceNews. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  11. ^ @stoke_space (April 5, 2024). "🚀Stage 1 engine assembly, checkout, shipping, install complete. ✅ Still lots of activations & checks to do… we'll fire it #whenitsready 🔥" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ @stoke_space (May 7, 2024). "Wall pours complete☑️, stage 1 engine vertical test stand coming online later this summer 🚀🔥 #fullflow" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Kuna, Erik (June 11, 2024). "Stoke Space Completes First Successful Hotfire Test of Full-Flow, Staged-Combustion Engine". Stoke Space / 100% reusable rockets / USA. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  14. ^ "Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy leads $65M funding round for Stoke Space's reusable rockets". December 15, 2021.
  15. ^ Davis, Anthony (October 5, 2023). "Stoke Space Announces $100 Million in New Investment". Stoke Space / 100% reusable rockets / USA. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  16. ^ Foust, Jeff (December 15, 2021). "Stoke Space raises $65 million for reusable launch vehicle development". SpaceNews. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  17. ^ Volosín, Trevor Sesnic; Morales, Juan I. (February 4, 2023). "Full Reusability By Stoke Space". Everyday Astronaut. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  18. ^ "Rocket". www.stokespace.com. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  19. ^ Ralph, Eric (February 8, 2023). "Stoke Space to build SpaceX Raptor engine's first real competitor". TESLARATI. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  20. ^ Erwin, Sandra (July 3, 2024). "Blue Origin, Stoke Space selected by U.S. Space Force to compete for small satellite missions". SpaceNews. Retrieved July 3, 2024.

Further reading

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