Stoke Space#81
About
Stoke Space is developing Nova, a fully and rapidly reusable medium-lift rocket aimed at dramatically lowering the cost of access to orbit. The company operates from Washington state and Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral.
From X
- @stoke_space is perhaps one of the most exciting rocket companies and is one of only a few companies actually building hardware for a fully reusable rocket featuring a super unique aerospike-ish powered actively cooled upper stage, and they’re ALSO building the coveted full flow staged combustion cycle for their main engines on their reusable booster! I caught up with their CEO @AndyLapsa who gave us a rundown on their incredible rocket called NOVA and we saw some new hardware that has the possibility to truly disrupt the rocket launch industry. 00:00 - Intro 00:45 - Hopper 04:50 - 3D Printing 06:20 - Zenith 12:00 - Avionics 16:37 - Heatshield 26:30 - First Mission 30:07 - Pumps 31:05 - Andromeda Manifold / Boltline 36:18 - Injectors / Engine Cell 37:40 - Tanks 46:00 - Zenith Bell 48:44 - Test Site 50:20 - Andromeda Engine 1:04:55 - Zenith 1:19:50 - Zenith Stand 1:21:58 - Andromeda Test 1:25:50 - Outro
🚨BREAKING: Sam Altman has been using OpenAI to enrich himself and bail out his personal investments >november 2023: board fires Altman >'not consistently candid in his communications' >among the things he hadn't disclosed: he personally owned the OpenAI Startup Fund >raising money in the Middle East for a chip venture called Tigris >employees revolt, he comes back five days later, board gets reconstituted >new board promises a 'strengthened conflict-management policy' >but never publishes the details >Helion fell behind on promises of a breakthrough energy source and began to run short on cash >Altman asked OpenAI to invest in Helion >$500M at $35B valuation >Altman is one of Helion's largest investors >its a sizable chunk of his net worth >OpenAI employees avoid the Slack channel discussing the deal >"worried that what they said might wind up in court" >OpenAI refuses the equity >BUT Altman still gets OAI to sign a 50GW power purchase agreement >for power that doesn't exist yet >Helion uses the contract to raise at $15B anyway >led by Thrive (loyal Altman backer) >Altman's stake marks up anyway >Altman also pushed OpenAI to acquire or take controlling stake in Stoke Space >proposed building data centers in space >to compete with Elon Musk SpaceX >but guess what >Altman's husband is invested in Stoke through their family office >not previously disclosed >in February on TBPN he called space data centers "ridiculous" >while still pursuing the deal >some board members weren't even aware of the talks >OpenAI also invested in Merge Labs in january >Altman's brain-computer interface co >Neuralink rival. another @elonmusk competitor >Altman sits on the board >Altman's spokes person: but he 'owns no equity' >everything is fine >Sam Altman has no direct equity in OpenAI >'I'm doing this because I love it' — Senate testimony, 2023 >however he pledges his startup fund as collateral on a JPMorgan line of credit >to fund MORE startups >Fidji Simo went on medical leave this month >named four executives to step in >Altman wasn't mentioned in the memo >investors are privately questioning whether Altman should lead OpenAI >when the board fired Sam Altman >it was because they couldn't tell whose interests he was serving >OpenAI or his own >all those board members are gone >replaced with people friendly to Altman >now no one can fire him >the new board promised to fix this and be transparent >but guess what? >they never did
New aerial view shows an incredibly clean Launch Complex-14 at Cape Canaveral. @Stoke_Space raised the flag at this site a month ago. Next: looking out for flight hardware arrival ahead of Nova's first mission later this year 👀 🛰️ Harry Stranger / © 2026 Planet Labs PBC https://t.co/WyyTp58hGS
$RKLB 🗞️ Rocket Lab and Stoke Space have been contacted in relation to Golden Dome contracts Reuters reports this morning. “Officials have reached out to new entrants like rocket companies Stoke Space and Rocket Lab” “Later in the development of Golden Dome "each individual launch is going to get bid, and we have to actually give bids to other people," besides SpaceX, the official said.” https://t.co/xqNM4CphjR
New competitor for $RKLB? 🚀 Today it was announced that “Stoke Space” has raised $510 million in their latest funding round to build their medium-lift reusable launch vehicle, Nova. If successful, Nova would be a direct competitor to $RKLB Neutron rocket, entering the same market segment. Stoke claims Nova’s first launch is planned for 2026, but personally, I have my doubts. Anyone who follows this industry knows how frequent delays are and just how brutally hard space can be, with most companies going bankrupt or shutting down under the sheer complexity of the business. It’ll be interesting to see if Stoke Space can be one of the very few that actually deliver. 👀
Exclusive: Trump's Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk's SpaceX $RKLB mentioned in Reuters article this morning: “Officials have reached out to new entrants like rocket companies Stoke Space and Rocket Lab are gaining traction and will be able to bid on individual launches as the program matures, according to the U.S. official.” h/t: @yourherofraser
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Will Stoke Space's Nova reach orbit before 2027?
