science

Stoke Space

Stoke Space is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Stoke Space rather than just read about it. In short: Stoke Space Technologies is an American rocket company based in Kent, Washington. History The company was founded by former Blue Origin and SpaceX employees.

Key takeaways

Stoke Space belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Stoke Space to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Stoke Space from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Stoke Space Technologies is an American rocket company based in Kent, Washington.

History The company was founded by former Blue Origin and SpaceX employees. 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. 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. In December 2021, the company raised $65 million in a Series A round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, funding development and testing of the upper stage of a reusable launch vehicle. In 2022, the company created a prototype of their second stage engine ring. Their prototype had at least 22 static fires in total. In 2023, CEO Andy Lapsa revealed their plan to create a fully and rapidly reusable orbital rocket. In the first months of 2023, Stoke Space finished the construction of Hopper1, a full-scale second stage prototype, intended to test fluid mechanics. On March 8, 2023, the company was given LC-14 in Florida as a future launch pad. 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. On September 17, 2023, Stoke Space conducted a 10 meter "hop" test of Hopper2, testing their 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 heat shield before successfully landing under three landing struts. In October 2023, Stoke Space announced a $100 million Series B funding round led by Industrious Ventures. In April 2024, the company announced that it had completed assembly and installation of a first stage engine for test firing. In May 2024, the company announced significant construction progress in their engine test firing stand. The first successful hot fire of Stoke Space's full flow staged combustion (FFSC) Engine, named Zenith, was reported in June 2024. In January 2025, the company raised $260M in Series C funding and another $510M in October in Series D led by US Innovative Technology Fund along with $100M in debt. In February 2026, the company extended its series D to $860M.

Facilities

The company operates a rocket test facility on a 75-acre (30 ha) site near Moses Lake's airport. Additionally, they also operate a 168,000 square foot assembly facility in Kent, Washington, which also doubles as their headquarters and planned mission control.

Technology

References

Further reading How Stoke Space's Unique Rocket Works, Exclusive Tour & Interview on YouTube Stoke Space CEO Andy Lapsa - Fully Reusable Rockets - NSF Live on YouTube

External links Official website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Stoke Space

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Stoke Space claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Stoke Space before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Stoke Space ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Stoke Space

In research: Stoke Space appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Stoke Space in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Stoke Space is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Aerospace companies of the United States, Companies based in Seattle, Companies based in Washington (state), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Stoke Space outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Stoke Space in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Stoke Space means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Stoke Space out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Stoke Space in simple terms?

Stoke Space Technologies is an American rocket company based in Kent, Washington. History The company was founded by former Blue Origin and SpaceX employees.

Why does Stoke Space matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Stoke Space?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Stoke Space.