{"id":17261,"date":"2023-09-17T17:09:20","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T09:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/stoke-space-puts-its-test-rocket-through-a-successful-hop-in-central-washington-state\/"},"modified":"2023-09-17T17:09:20","modified_gmt":"2023-09-17T09:09:20","slug":"stoke-space-puts-its-test-rocket-through-a-successful-hop-in-central-washington-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/stoke-space-puts-its-test-rocket-through-a-successful-hop-in-central-washington-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Stoke Space puts its test rocket through a successful hop in central Washington state"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full-width\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"418\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230917-hopper2-630x418.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-790303\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230917-hopper2-630x418.jpeg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230917-hopper2-1260x837.jpeg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230917-hopper2-768x510.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230917-hopper2-1536x1020.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230917-hopper2.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stoke Space\u2019s Hopper2 developmental rocket vehicle fires its engine during a test \u201chop.\u201d (Stoke Space Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A four-year-old Seattle-area startup called Stoke Space executed a successful up-and-down test of its \u201cHopper\u201d developmental rocket vehicle today, marking a major milestone in its quest to create a fully reusable launch system.<\/p>\n<p>Hopper2\u2019s 15-second flight took place at Stoke\u2019s test facility at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Wash., at 11:24 a.m. PT. A hydrogen-fueled rocket engine sent the test vehicle to a height of 30 feet, with a landing 15 feet away from the launch pad, Stoke CEO Andy Lapsa told GeekWire.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the last test in our development program for Hopper, and by all accounts, it\u2019s been very successful,\u201d Lapsa said.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s test follows up on work that was done this spring with an earlier prototype, Hopper1, and a static engine firing for Hopper2 that was conducted this month. <\/p>\n<p>In a Sept. 12 posting to X \/ Twitter, Stoke Space said \u201cwe\u2019ve now learned everything we were looking for from this dev test vehicle in order to finalize the orbital design \u2026 but HELL YES we\u2019re gonna hop it for icing on the cake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis Hopper program was really geared to develop the reusable second-stage system, and specifically prove out a lot of the new and novel technology elements that go into it,\u201d Lapsa explained today. \u201cThere\u2019s the actively cooled, regeneratively cooled heat shield. We have a very unique rocket engine \u2026 with a single set of turbo machinery that feeds an array of thrusters. Both of those two, the heat shield and the engine, are coupled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lapsa said Stoke Space\u2019s rocket may well mark the first use of differential-thrust vector control for attitude control since 1972, when that approach was used for the last Soviet N1 moon rocket.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1703569700540883195&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2023%2Fstoke-space-test-rocket-hop-moses-lake%2F&amp;sessionId=4f147fd01fc327d3b46690c531cc7b09249410a0&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1703569700540883195\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782799385876608467=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"qme\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udc07 pic.twitter.com\/2EXvwX1IH0<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Stoke Space (@stoke_space) September 18, 2023<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In addition to testing out the technical innovations, Stoke\u2019s team also had to go through a steep learning curve on launch logistics. \u201cWe\u2019re a young company, so developing operational procedures, ground support equipment, guidance, navigation and control, flight software, flight computers, comms \u2014 all of these things are new,\u201d Lapsa said. \u201cWe have a very experienced team, but this is the first time that we\u2019ve been doing all those things as a Stoke team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stoke Space was founded in 2019 by Lapsa, a veteran of Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture; and Tom Feldman, who worked at Blue Origin after interning at SpaceX. In addition to the testing grounds at Moses Lake\u2019s airport, the company has a 21,000-square-foot engineering and manufacturing headquarters in Kent, Wash., not far from Blue Origin\u2019s HQ.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, the company raised $65 million in a funding round led by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates\u2019 Breakthrough Energy Ventures. And earlier this year, Stoke won the go-ahead to take over Cape Canaveral Space Force Station\u2019s Launch Complex 14 in Florida, the site of John Glenn\u2019s history-making Mercury launch in 1962.<\/p>\n<p>Going forward, Stoke\u2019s team will concentrate more fully on developing its rocket\u2019s first stage and ramping up operations in Florida, Lapsa said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe focus is now very centrally on getting to orbit, and the first stage is the most critical part of that,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll be focusing on first-stage engine development. I would say it\u2019s a custom-designed engine, but in terms of novelty and world-first, it\u2019s not intended to be one of those.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"We are Stoke Space\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VzqhZLgpiv0?start=4&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Eventually, Stoke plans to offer a fully reusable launch system, including a second stage that can be brought back to Earth without having to rely on exotic shielding.<\/p>\n<p>The concept behind Stoke Space\u2019s launch system has been compared to the much larger two-stage Starship system that\u2019s being developed by SpaceX for trips beyond Earth orbit. You can extend that comparison to characterize today\u2019s Hopper flight as a parallel to SpaceX\u2019s Grasshopper test flights in 2012 and 2013, or the Starhopper tests in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Lapsa said he was \u201cincredibly proud\u201d of his team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe team is unbelievable, and you know, we\u2019ve developed everything. Two and a half years ago, this spot in Moses Lake was a blank desert. Today we\u2019ve launched a brand-new hydrogen-oxygen engine \u2014 and it\u2019s a very unique engine \u2014 on a vehicle that took off and landed vertically,\u201d he said. \u201cI think everybody\u2019s on cloud nine.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stoke Space\u2019s Hopper2 developmental rocket vehicle fires its engine during a test \u201chop.\u201d (Stoke Space Photo) A four-year-old Seattle-area startup called Stoke Space executed a successful up-and-down test of its \u201cHopper\u201d developmental rocket vehicle today, marking a major milestone in its quest to create a fully reusable launch system. Hopper2\u2019s 15-second flight took place at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[348,345],"class_list":["post-17261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-moses-lake","tag-stoke-space"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17261"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17261\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}