Inside The Startup Building Reusable Rockets

Stoke Space is solving the industry's biggest challenge: making the entire rocket reusable, not just the first stage. Their Nova rocket features the highest fuel-efficient engine ever produced, while the Andromeda second stage uses a revolutionary liquid hydrogen heat shield to survive 2,700°F reentry temperatures at 17,000 mph. This could scale launches from 150/year to thousands without scaling factories.

• •Only first stages are currently reused; second stages worth millions are thrown away after every mission, limiting industry to ~150 launches/year
• •Andromeda capsule uses cold liquid hydrogen flowing through heat exchanger to absorb extreme reentry heat (2,700°F)
• •24 small thrusters enable precise landing control after reentry deceleration
• •Full reusability enables scaling flight frequency without scaling manufacturing infrastructure
• •First stage engine is one of highest fuel-efficient rocket engines ever produced - critical for long life and rapid reuse

Tom and Andy met as jet propulsion engineers at Blue Origin and left in 2019 to start Stoke Space. After evaluating 150+ rocket companies and finding only PowerPoint concepts, they identified the reusability gap. They gave themselves a 6-month deadline, started during COVID, and built their first pressure-fed hydrogen-oxygen thruster in a shipping container in Tom's backyard.

• •Evaluated 150+ existing rocket companies - most were PowerPoint concepts without viable paths to hardware
• •Key insight: nobody was attacking full reusability with rigor, and they had a concrete solution
• •Set 6-month deadline to achieve traction or reevaluate - got first check right at that deadline
• •Built first prototype thruster in shipping container using gaseous hydrogen and liquid oxygen
• •Tom welded test infrastructure while Andy refined pitch deck - demonstrated fire within 2 months

With no network or wealthy connections, Andy and Tom faced brutal fundraising during COVID market shutdown. YC provided critical network access and helped them learn to pitch hardware companies to SaaS-focused VCs. The key lesson: get good at hearing 'no' and maintain conviction through constant rejection. They've now raised $190M total.

• •Wildly underestimated fundraising difficulty - had no Rolodex or rich uncles, had to build organically
• •Started raising right when COVID hit and market shut down - extremely tough environment
• •YC provided network access and taught them to translate hardware story for SaaS-focused VCs
• •Critical advice: 'Get good at hearing no' - maintaining conviction through constant rejection
• •Raised $190M to date while operating more efficiently than industry peers

Stoke builds every component in-house at their 168,000 sq ft facility designed for 7 vehicles/year. This vertical integration compresses iteration cycles from months to days - they can test, learn, machine new parts, and retest within 48 hours. The philosophy: you can't analyze everything to perfection, so speed of learning through testing becomes the competitive advantage.

• •Build everything in-house: avionics, electronics, engines, structures, additive manufacturing - all in one 168K sq ft facility
• •Vertical integration reduces iteration cycles from 1 month (external suppliers) to 1-2 days (in-house)
• •Philosophy: plan for failure, have next test article ready on factory floor when current one fails
• •Test-learn-modify-retest loop: drive to test stand, tear down, machine changes, integrate, test again in days
• •Facility designed to produce 7 complete vehicles per year at full capacity

Unlike traditional rockets that launch once and disappear, Stoke needs to track parts across hundreds of flights for maintenance scheduling. They built Bolt Line, custom software that bridges from 'garage to FAA-regulated human spaceflight' by automating data capture from factory workers and abstracting it for different functions. This enables the aircraft-like reusability model they're targeting.

• •Traditional rockets launch once and sink - Stoke needs to track parts across many flights for preventative maintenance
• •Built custom tool 'Bolt Line' to manage entire lifecycle from manufacturing through multiple flight cycles
• •Software must bridge from garage-stage startup to FAA-regulated human spaceflight operations
• •Automates data logging from factory workers and abstracts information for different organizational functions
• •Exploring AI integration to make data capture even more seamless for workers while maintaining compliance

Stoke is building their launch site at historic Complex 14 in Cape Canaveral (where John Glenn launched in 1962) with first orbital launch planned for late 2024. They're running parallel workstreams: Cape construction, engine qualification, structural testing at Moses Lake facility, and continuous hardware-in-the-loop simulations of the complete avionics and flight software stack.

• •Launch site under construction at Complex 14, Cape Canaveral - same site as John Glenn's historic 1962 orbit
• •First and second stage engines completing development and qualification testing
• •Moses Lake facility testing structural articles under cryogenic conditions
• •Hardware-in-the-loop testing: full avionics integrated with flight computer running simulated missions continuously
• •Vision if successful: flying daily with aircraft-like operations, unlocking 'iPhone app store moment' for space applications