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Stoke Space

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Stoke Space
Company typePrivate
IndustrySpace technology
FoundersAndy Lapsa, Tom Feldman
Headquarters
Kent Edit this on Wikidata
Number of employees
85
Websitehttps://www.stokespace.com/

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

History

The company was founded by a group of former Blue Origin and SpaceX employees.[1]

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.[2]

In February 2021 the company raised $9.1 million in seed funding in a round led by venture funds NFX and MaC Venture Capital.[1]

In December 2021 the company raised $65 million in a Series A round, funding development and testing of the upper stage of a reusable launch vehicle.[3] Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the multibillion-dollar clean-tech initiative created by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, was leading the round.[4]

In 2021, not much was publicly known about the testing and development of Stoke Space's technologies.[citation needed] In 2022, the company created a prototype of their second stage engine ring. Their prototype had at least 22 static fires in total. That same year, Stoke Space had an interview with Tim Dodd (also known as The Everyday Astronaut).[5]

In the first months of 2023, Stoke Space finished the construction of their full scale second stage, stating that it was going to perform "hop" tests, similar to SpaceX's Starhopper Prototype.

On March 8, 2023, the company was given LC-14 in Florida as a future launch pad for their vehicles.[6] 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.[citation needed]

On September 17, 2023, Stoke Space conducted a 10 meter "hop" test of "Hopper2", testing their unique differential steering method. 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 heatshield before successfully landing under three landing struts.[7]

In October 2023, Stoke Space announced a $100 million Series B funding round.[8]

Facilities

The company operates a rocket test facility on a 75-acre (30 ha) site near Moses Lake’s airport.[9]

Technology

Stoke Space is developing a fully and rapidly reusable space launch vehicle called Nova,[8] and is focusing on its second stage.

Stoke Space's reusable second-stage uses a single engine with 30 thrust chambers around the circumference of the vehicle, along with a center passive bleed to create an aerospike engine-like effect. Additionally, the center bleed acts as a heat shield during re-entry, eliminating the need for brittle ceramic tiles that have required detailed inspections and lengthy refurbishments on other space vehicles,[10][11] like the Space Shuttle orbiter.

For its reusable first stage, the company is considering 7 conventional full-flow-staged combustion rocket engines, burning methalox. This configuration is very similar to SpaceX's Raptor Engine.[12][13]

References

  1. ^ a b "Stoke raises seed round to work on fully reusable rockets". 25 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Relativity and Reach, Stoke and Starfish: Blue Origin veterans spark space startups". 10 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Stoke Space raises $65 million for reusable launch vehicle development". 15 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Rocket Report: SpaceX plans a Falcon 9 flurry, Bill Gates buys into rockets". 17 December 2021.
  5. ^ Sesnic, Trevor (4 February 2023). "Full Reusability By Stoke Space". Everyday Astronaut. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  6. ^ Boyle, Alan (March 8, 2023). "Godspeed, Stoke Space! Rocket startup gets John Glenn's launch pad at the Cape". GeekWire. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  7. ^ Bradbury, Brent (2023-09-18). "Update on Hopper2: The Hopper Has Landed". Stoke Space / 100% reusable rockets / USA. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  8. ^ a b Davis, Anthony (2023-10-05). "Stoke Space Announces $100 Million in New Investment". Stoke Space / 100% reusable rockets / USA. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  9. ^ "Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy leads $65M funding round for Stoke Space's reusable rockets". 15 December 2021.
  10. ^ "STOKE Space Raises $65M Series a to Make Space Access Sustainable and Scalable" (Press release). 15 December 2021.
  11. ^ Volosín, Trevor Sesnic, Juan I. Morales (2023-02-04). "Full Reusability By Stoke Space". Everyday Astronaut. Retrieved 2023-02-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Rocket". www.stokespace.com. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  13. ^ Ralph, Eric (2023-02-08). "Stoke Space to build SpaceX Raptor engine's first real competitor". TESLARATI. Retrieved 2023-09-20.

Further reading

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stoke_Space&oldid=1178820419"