Stoke Space goes for broke to solve the only launch problem that “moves the needle”

Launch Complex 14, Cape Canaveral, Florida – The platform atop the hulking steel tower offers sweeping views of Florida’s rich, sandy coastline and the brilliant blue waves beyond. Yet for an aspiring rocket veteran like Andy Lapsa, as captivating as the scene may be, it must also be a little intimidating.

To their right, next door at Launch Complex 13, a recently returned Falcon 9 booster stood on a landing pad. SpaceX has launched more than 500 large orbital rockets. And next to SpaceX stretches the launch site operated by Blue Origin. Its giant New Glenn rocket is also reusable, and founder Jeff Bezos has invested billions of dollars in the venture.

Looking left, Lapsa saw a graveyard of sorts for business startups. Launch Complex 15 was leased to a promising startup, ABL Space, two years ago. After two unsuccessful launches, ABL Space moved away from commercial launches. Just ahead of it is Launch Complex 16, from where the aim is to launch Relativity Space. The company has already spent $4 billion in its efforts to reach orbit. Had billionaire Eric Schmidt not stepped in earlier this year, Relativity would have gone bankrupt.

Andy Lapsa may be a brainy rocket scientist, but he’s no billionaire. Far away from.

“When you start a company like this, you have no idea how far you’ll be able to take it, you know?” He accepted.

Lapsa and Tom Feldman, another aerospace engineer, founded Stoke Space a little more than five years ago. The two had worked at Blue Origin for a decade and decided they wanted to leave their mark on the industry. Starting a rocket company was not an easy choice at a time when there were dozens of others in the field.

“It was a big question in my mind: Does the world really need a 151st Rocket Company?” He said. “And to say yes to that question, I had to think very systematically about all the other players, about the economics of launch, about the business plan, about the growth of these companies over time. It was very non-intuitive for me to start another launch company.”