Stoke Space raises $1 billion for fully reusable rockets, targets 'early 2027' for 1st-ever launch
斯托克航天公司筹集 10 亿美元购买完全可重复使用的火箭，目标是“2027 年初”首次发射
Stoke Space has amassed a substantial sum during its latest round of financing and is revealing exactly where it plans to invest its new stack of cash.
Stoke Space 在最新一轮融资中积累了大量资金，并透露了其计划将新现金投资到哪里。
The Kent, Washington-based company just raised $1 billion via its"Series E" capital campaign, bringing Stoke’s total investor haul to $2.3 billion. The Sept. 8 announcement provided a development update for Stoke’s fully reusable Nova Pathfinder launch vehicle and included plans for its never-before-seen Nova Block 2 rocket, a more powerful system designed to be able to deliver up to 15 tons to low Earth orbit (LEO).
这家总部位于华盛顿州肯特郡的公司刚刚通过 “E 轮 ”融资活动筹集了 10 亿美元，使斯托克大学的投资总额达到 23 亿美元。9 月 8 日的公告提供了斯托克完全可重复使用的 Nova Pathfinder 运载火箭的最新开发情况，并包括其前所未有的 Nova Block 2 火箭的计划，该火箭是一种更强大的系统，旨在将多达 15 吨的火箭送入近地轨道（LEO）。
“We are humbled by the trust our investors and customers have placed in us in pursuit of this critical generational challenge,” said Andy Lapsa, Stoke CEO and co-founder. “This investment enables us to scale toward delivering the capability and cadence our customers require.”
“斯托克首席执行官兼联合创始人安迪-拉普萨（Andy Lapsa）说：”我们的投资者和客户对我们的信任让我们感到受宠若惊。“这项投资让我们能够扩大规模，来提供客户所需。
Nova Pathfinder is Stoke’s first orbital launch vehicle (the largest first rocket ever undertaken by a U.S. launch company, according to Stoke), and is based on the same technologies the company is building into its Block 2 design. Both two-stage vehicles are being manufactured with full and rapid reusability in mind, with Pathfinder serving as the proving ground for that architecture.
Nova Pathfinder 是斯托克公司的第一枚轨道运载火箭（据斯托克公司称，这是美国发射公司有史以来最大的第一枚火箭），其基础是该公司在 Block 2 设计中采用的相同技术。这两款两级车辆的制造都考虑到了完全快速的可重复使用性，Pathfinder 是该架构的试验场。
Pathfinder's first stage is powered by seven Stoke-designed full-flow, staged-combustion (FFSC) Zenith rocket engines, fueled by liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The first stage on Nova Block 2 will be equipped with 14 Zeniths. Stoke calls FFSC “perhaps the most difficult rocket engine cycle to develop,” but highlights its advantages; the tech leaves fewer residuals like soot around the engines and reduces the amount of maintenance needed between flights, according to the company.
探路者的第一级由七台斯托克设计的全流量分级燃烧（FFSC）天顶火箭发动机提供动力，以液氧和液化天然气（LNG）为燃料。Nova Block 2 的第一级将配备 14 个天顶。斯托克称 FFSC “也许是最难开发的火箭发动机循环”，但它的优势显而易见的；据该公司称，这项技术减少了发动机周围的烟灰等残留物，并减少了航班之间所需的维护量。
The upper stage of both rockets is the more atypical approach to spacecraft design, compared to other vehicles of the same launch class. The aft end of Nova’s second stage is designed with a heat shield to protect the vehicle during reentry through Earth’s atmosphere. Instead of the ceramic tiles historically used on the heat shields of previous spacecraft, the dome-like structure at the base of Nova’s upper stage is made of metal, which is actively cooled by the liquid hydrogen that fuels the stage’s Andromeda propulsion system.
与同一发射级别的其他飞行器相比，这两枚火箭的上级是航天器设计中更非典型的方法。新星号第二级的尾端设计有隔热罩，可在飞行器重返地球大气层时保护飞行器。新星号上级底部的圆顶状结构不是历史上用于以往航天器隔热罩的瓷砖，而是由金属制成，由为该级仙女座推进系统提供燃料的液氢主动冷却。
Rather than a single large, vacuum-optimized engine bell at its center, Nova’s upper stage features 12 small dual-thrust chambers integrated into a circle around the outer edges of the vehicle’s heat shield. Stoke successfully completed a “hopper” test flight of Pathfinder’s upper stage engine system in 2023, flying the vehicle about 30 feet (10 meters) into the air before it safely touched down.
Nova 的上级中心不是一个经过真空优化的大型发动机钟，而是有 12 个小型双推力室，这些室围绕车辆隔热罩的外缘集成在一个圆圈中。斯托克公司于 2023 年成功完成了探路者号上级发动机系统的 “料斗 ”试飞，将飞行器飞到空中约 30 英尺（10 米），然后安全着陆。
Scaling up to Block 2, Stoke plans to equip the upper-stage system with independent systems for each of the 12 engines, potentially increasing thrust by over a factor of five, according to the company. Block 2’s upper stage also drops Pathfinder’s tapered design in favor of cylindrical tanks, increasing propellant and payload volume to accommodate a 5-meter-wide (16.4 feet) fairing.
据该公司称，扩大到 2 号机组后，斯托克计划为 12 台发动机中的每台配备独立系统，推力可能会增加五倍以上。Block 2 的上级还放弃了探路者号的锥形设计，转而采用圆柱形油箱，增加了推进剂和有效载荷体积，以容纳 5 米宽（16.4 英尺）的整流罩。
Stoke says the larger Block 2 configuration has been in the works alongside Pathfinder for several years. The company is developing the more powerful rocket to support large commercial and national security satellite constellations, of which there soon may be a high demand.
斯托克表示，更大的 Block 2 配置已经与 Pathfinder 一起开发了几年。该公司正在开发更强大的火箭，以支持大型商业和国家安全卫星星座，对这些星座的需求可能很快就会很高。
Nova Block 2’s closest competitors are SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Rocket Lab’s upcoming Neutron launch vehicle, which is still under development. And Falcon 9 is already being sundowned by SpaceX as the company gets closer to operational flights with its next-generation Starship rocket. While certain Falcon 9 flights for NASA, like crew launches to the International Space Station, are expected to continue until at least 2030, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said that Starship’s ultimate success “means winding down Falcon.” The timing should line up with when Stoke hopes to step in with Nova Block 2. Block 2’s first launch is targeted for 2029, with production and flight cadence expected to increase from there.
Nova Block 2 最接近的竞争对手是 SpaceX 的猎鹰 9 号火箭和火箭实验室即将推出的仍在研发中的中子运载火箭。随着 SpaceX 的下一代星际飞船火箭接近运营飞行，猎鹰 9 号已经被该公司击落。虽然美国国家航空航天局的某些猎鹰 9 号飞行，如载人发射到国际空间站，预计将至少持续到 2030 年，但 SpaceX 首席执行官埃隆-马斯克（Elon Musk）表示，星际飞船的最终成功 “意味着猎鹰号的终结”。这个时机应该与斯托克城希望进入Nova Block 2的时间相吻合。Block 2 的首次发射目标是在 2029 年，预计此后产量和飞行节奏将有所增加。
As Stoke ramps up development for its upgraded launch vehicle, the company’s fresh round of funding will also go toward construction of the physical infrastructure Stoke needs to build, test and eventually operate both vehicles. The company is planning a 475-acre (192 hectares) expansion to its 75-acre (30 hectares) Moses Lake Test Site in Washington to support propulsion and vehicle testing as Pathfinder nears its first launch and Block 2 hardware begins coming online.
随着斯托克公司加快升级版运载火箭的开发，该公司的新一轮资金还将用于建设斯托克公司建造、测试并最终运营这两款运载火箭所需的有形基础设施。该公司正计划将占地 475 英亩（192 公顷）扩建至位于华盛顿的 75 英亩（30 公顷）摩西湖试验场，以支持推进和车辆测试，因为 Pathfinder 即将首次发布，Block 2 硬件开始上线。
Stoke is also expanding its operations at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida. The company was selected by the U.S. Space Force in 2023 to manage CCSFS’s Space Launch Complex-14, where it’s now building a new payload processing facility sized to accommodate both vehicles. And to complete its full reusability system, the company is also developing an offshore recovery platform.
斯托克还在扩大其在佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角太空部队站（CCSFS）的业务。该公司于 2023 年被美国太空军选中，负责管理 CCSFS 的 14 号航天发射场，目前该公司正在那里建造一个新的有效载荷处理设施，该设施的规模足以容纳这两艘航天器。为了完成其完整的可重复使用系统，该公司还在开发海上回收平台。
Pathfinder has a much shorter timeline to the launch pad. Stoke is targeting early 2027 for Pathfinder’s debut launch, which the company plans to send to orbit with a customer payload. If that’s successful, Stoke hopes to fly multiple Pathfinder missions throughout 2027 and 2028 while Block 2 development and testing continue in parallel.
探路者到达发射台的时间要短得多。斯托克的目标是在 2027 年初进行探路者号的首次发射，公司计划将探路者号与客户有效载荷一起送入轨道。如果成功，斯托克希望在 2027 年和 2028 年全年执行多次探路者任务，同时 2 号区块的开发和测试也将同步进行。
Once Block 2 does reach the launch pad, Stoke plans to keep Pathfinder in service. “We see value in having more than one way to serve the market, since some missions are particularly well suited to the Pathfinder configuration,” the company said.
一旦Block 2到达发射台，斯托克计划让探路者继续服役。“该公司表示：”我们认为有多种方式来服务于市场是很有价值的，因为有些任务特别适合探路者
