Stoke Space

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

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

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]


After receiving money, Stoke Space quickly started developing actual hardware. About 2021 testing/development not so much is known. In 2022 company already had created a prototype of their 2nd stage engine ring. In total, there were at least 22 Static Fires of their prototype, with more happening each and every day. In 2022, Stoke Space had an interview[5] with Tim Dodd (Otherwise Known as The Everyday Astronaut.) In the first months of 2023, Stoke Space finished the construction of their full scale 2nd stage, stating that it is going to perform "hops", similar to SpaceX's Starhopper Prototype. On March 8th, 2023, the company was given LC-14 in Florida as a future launch pad for Stoke's vehicles. Just 10 days later, on March 18th, Stoke Space's 2nd stage conducted its Wet Dress Rehearsal, where they loaded both Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen into the Tanks, preparing for launch without actually launching. This suggests its first hops will take place within a month or sooner.

Facilities

The company operates a rocket test facility on a 75-acre (30 ha) site near Moses Lake’s airport.[6]

Technology

Their reusable second-stage design 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 without actually using aerospike engines. Additionally, the center bleed acts as a barrier gas during re-entry which eliminates the need for brittle ceramic tiles that have required detailed inspections and lengthy refurbishments on other space vehicles.[7][8]

References
  1. "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. "Full Reusability By Stoke Space". Everyday Astronaut. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  6. "Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy leads $65M funding round for Stoke Space's reusable rockets". 15 December 2021.
  7. "STOKE Space Raises $65M Series a to Make Space Access Sustainable and Scalable". 15 December 2021.
  8. Volosín, Trevor Sesnic, Juan I. Morales (2023-02-04). "Full Reusability By Stoke Space". Everyday Astronaut. Retrieved 2023-02-05.

Further reading
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