How Stoke Space's Unique Rocket Works // Exclusive Tour & Interview

[@donjones4719]

Why were you selected for Dear Moon? THIS! You communicate with great enthusiasm. When our minds were blown by the heat shield being part of the engine, and at the actual engine firing, you said "Whoa" for all of us. This is your 3rd CEO interview and they all love nerding out with you - because you followed their thoughts every step of the way. What other interviewer would spot the skew and be able to segue to what it means. I can't believe the tonnage of info he shared with us. There is so much to love about their designs; synergy and elegance at every turn.

[@rasaecnai]

Correct me if I am wrong, but isnt this Tim's 4th CEO interview? - Elon Musk (SpaceX) - Peter Beck (RocketLabs) - Tom Markusic (Firefly) - This guy

[@jacobfuller-lewis5528]

@@rasaecnai plus nasa administrator

[@CHMichael]

And every once in a while he spots or solves a problem ( SpaceX)

[@nilsdock]

well Jeff Besos, Tory Bruno and Richard Branson would be nice to see. a blue origin factory tour would be the most interesting.

[@SolarWebsite]

​@@nilsdock Jeff Bezos is probably never going to happen, because the guy is so secretive. The other, yeah, I can totally see those happening at some point when they see the excellent interviews like this.

[@cmilkau]

Did anyone else notice that the *company* reached out to *Tim*, not the other way around? I'm so happy they did that! Hey space companies out there, if you want to bring your tech down to earth for everyone to understand, Tim's your first choice!

[@AlexFoster2291]

They likely need funding, and so publicity

[@thomashiggins9320]

@@AlexFoster2291 If I had a few million sitting around (LoL!), I might invest.

[@RasakBlood]

Its a smart pr move. Helps you find talent and funding.

[@ZaphodHarkonnen]

@@AlexFoster2291 Yup. Looks like they’re at the point to bring on big money to really accelerate. This is a great way of doing it from both a big investor and general PR point of view. An independent voice who’s willing to put out an honest view that also echoes what the company is saying.

[@patreekotime4578]

Smarter to do this than just release the typical press release. Too many science journalists dont understand what they are reporting and just reprint the press release. Seeing Tim's mind blown is dramatically much more effective at explaining how impressive thier efforts are than a press release would be.

[@EricNistler]

The look on Andy's face as he's walking around the shop, all the details being considered, all the weight on his shoulders, and even knowing all the things that have to go right you can see how enthusiastic and hopeful he is at what is to come. The future belongs to the bold.

[@laurin4405]

👍Totally enjoyed seeing Andy's Enthusiasm, and Excitement as he showed us "His Baby"... Will be watching him, hoping for Many Successes for him and his Team👀

[@jantonkens9820]

@@laurin4405 fully agree. Andy seems to really have fun with doing what he does. And it helps he's cute and easy on the eyes as well... Smart, nerdy and cute: what more could you wish for 😜👍🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🦆

[@sebione3576]

But *I* want the future 😢

[@laurin4405]

@@sebione3576

[@bencarley6896]

@@laurin4405 the "my baby" attitude is exactly what I got, that smile he was wearing half the video just screamed "So uh, I did a thing"

[@rexjohnson1905]

This guy has the most polite way of getting around explaining proprietary information. I wish this company great success!

[@gutek5930]

and for some reason he looks 20 and 50 at the same time

[@pmilland]

😊es55dcf❤a🎉4z44z

[@pmilland]

Qf5

[@pmilland]

Se5etd8x

[@Redfiregtag]

​@@gutek5930IKR, lol I thought I was seeing two different people at different points, like from the side he looks completely different than from the front lol,

[@CeladonHairExtraordinaire]

I love how it sounds like they've taken all their learnings from their respective companies, thrown them into a forge, and blacksmithed the solution to their particular use case. It's so bloody unique I love it.

[@katjamullerfilm]

Yes!

[@tangotango6681]

Amazing story. Andy Lapsa, the CEO and founder, seems to be a pragmatic genius. Can you do a “prequel” story explaining how Andy gets to where he is now from developing his original idea, selecting and forming a team, securing funding, and establishing the construction process. Thanks.

[@TheRacquetLion]

He used to work in blue origin and also has a team of many former spacex engineers

[@josesuro3981]

Brilliant guy - I'm impressed, and that doesn't come easy for me.

[@PhilfreezeCH]

I love the guy, absolutely no bullshiting or trying to sound profound, just square peg into square hole.

[@RedRyan]

I'll be interviewing for a job here and about 3 weeks when I finish my degree. I love my career developer who was able to get me the interview

[@jannichi6431]

@@RedRyan ☘️🚀

[@flechette3782]

Space Renaissance: This is the private company space race we have been hoping and waiting for for decades. It is turning out to be a competition of all sorts of cool, 1950's style rocketry. These new rockets look like something out of an old sci-fi novel. Fantastic times ahead!

[@Dennio83]

thank god it's not a race this time, coz that would mean there's a finish line. No, it's finally becoming a full fledged industry. but i do share your enthusiasm: Fantastic times ahead indeed!

[@seantaggart7382]

​@@Dennio83 indeed But the finish line is basically who can make the Coolest rocket we all want! And the winner IS EVERYONE

[@MichaelCox]

It's really cool how Stoke's CEO talks like he's seen Tim's videos and knows what Tim and people who have seen his other videos know about rocket engines. Makes for a lot of lightbulb moments when watching this one :)

[@donjones4719]

Yup, there's no doubt Andy has seen Tim's other interviews. He was all set and ready to go to nerd out with Tim.

[@andrewdoesyt7787]

Idk, I feel like this guy was a little duller than Peter beck from rocket lab and Bill Weber from firefly. Just my feelings though

[@LG-ct8tw]

@@andrewdoesyt7787 I put him up there, level with Beck, way better than mumbling Musk as far as listening to.

[@temujanradari1105]

They had definitely done their research before they reached out to Tim! Great way of building good will in the space community towards your company - way cheaper than hiring a PR person!

[@jaakkokorhonen]

I still don't understand what he means when he says "non-trivial".

[@XIIchiron78]

I think the reason that this hasn't been done before is the differential thrust idea that makes it all possible. It was mentioned very casually but that's really really difficult! Both because of the consistency, precision, and reactivity you need to be able to drive the engines with, but also just the ability to throttle that deeply in the first place. There's so many little innovations in materials and computing science that make this even plausible compared to the last big period of experimentation. If they can figure out that one thing the design is pure genius. The way they've solved big issues by just avoiding them entirely instead is so creative! For example, as you mentioned they don't even need to solve the spooling delay problem with the pump - they can just offset any drop in thrust on one engine with an increase in the opposite one, keeping the flow rate constant. That by itself is already incredible.

[@CBikeLondon]

Thanks for making these kinds of videos that are extremely informative, but inevitably attracting less views. They're a real source of inspiration and source of knowledge for a lot of people, especially students. Not to mention the very good PR for Stoke in this case, who no doubt will be helped by this in future rounds of funding and hopefully succeed.

[@hawkbartril3016]

That's why I came here to this page because it wasn't something I'd heard much about. Curiosity iced the cat.

[@Neilukuk]

848,060 views and 1k-2k isn't bad. It was nice of you to donate, You help with funding this channel and I appreciate it.

[@CBikeLondon]

@@Neilukuk Yes, when I donated it was under 200k, seems to have picked up, which is great. I'm also a patreon supporter.

[@Jona69]

I love how ambitious they are. Fully reusable, full flow for the first stage. Brilliant upper stage.

[@ishner]

This is the second stage friend. SpaceX has first stage locked down. This goes on top of that piece

[@bradley3549]

@@ishner In this video the CEO specifically says they are building their own first stage and not putting this on top of somebody else's.

[@IDNeon357]

They aren't ambitious, they are fraudulent,.

[@Jona69]

@@IDNeon357 Do you have a source?

[@rogerroth7782]

Love the ambition. Conservative and not.

[@squirrelrobotics]

The look of pure satisfaction and pride on Andy's face during that test firing is amazing.

[@antontkach]

He literally looks like a soyboy meme

[@peteclegg1578]

Ya I thought the same.

[@hawkbartril3016]

If he's the architect of the project or most of it, then no wonder he is happy with his achievement. Thinking outside the box is an under-utilized skill in modern times, when we should be seeing increasing numbers. It must be the rocks in my head. Owul ouch, mum

[@rocketman1969]

Stoke Space has to be one of my favorite aerospace companies; their innovation is on the same level as SpaceX today, or NASA during Apollo and Shuttle. Thanks Tim for bringing this information out to the masses in an understandable and enjoyable format. We really appreciate your interviews as they give us looks into the industry which would otherwise not be possible. Thank you so much.

[@BaalsMistress]

I'd never heard of them before this video. Definately watching for them now.

[@xjArieswar]

@@BaalsMistress De-finite-ly

[@BaalsMistress]

@@xjArieswar Nope, you're wrong. There are no hyphens in definately.

[@georgeb.3292]

at the same level as SpaceX today or NASA back in Apollo? That seems like a bit of strech... but surely is a company to watch

[@BaalsMistress]

@@georgeb.3292 The CEO reminds me of Elon Musk back in the Falcon 1 days. In terms of enthusiasm and approach. There is no question that they have an interesting and innovative product. The question for me is can they get it to commercial viability before running out of funding. If yes, then we have a second company that looks set to drive human spaceflight capabilities forwards at pace and that can only be great news.

[@enque01]

Wat! This Stoke company comes straight outta nowhere, and I immediately become a fan! All the design decisions were just delicious. I loved hearing how each and every thing was also being another thing.

[@joshjones6072]

Seriously!

[@niri2506]

Yes. First spaceflight company since SpaceX that really gets me excited.

[@osamabattletrap]

The designs were yummy

[@skunkbucket9408]

I appreciate how Tim is willing to keep asking questions until he fully understands, instead of just nodding and pretending that he does. It's like the relief we all felt in class when some other student asked the same question we had but were too afraid to ask. Well done as always, Tim!

[@GatewaySpace]

Wow, I really don't think many people can handle such interviews as well as Tim does. Many thanks for another great look into an aerospace company that is definitely worth keeping an eye on.

[@rocketman1969]

a

[@jannichi6431]

Speaking of eyes, Fire of Austin may have been too ambitious. Good luck to all innovators ☘️🌌👍

[@arnoldsherrill2585]

Stoke space, as a company is taking the hard lessons learned by SpaceX, and other companies using new technology, and refining both the manufacturing and flight/ground test program to suit their needs, and mission design. Congratulations Tim, on this video and so many others that is why you got selected for dear Moon project you did it the old-fashioned way..... you earned it, every step of the way!

[@PrimordialEconomics]

This company is many years behind SpaceX, and is funded by that piece of human garbage Bill Gates. The same Bill Gates that claims to be concerned about sustainable energy yet shorts Tesla stock.

[@IDNeon357]

You're pathetic, Stoke Space is fraudulent, they can't do what they claim is possible, it's been tested completely since the 1950s.

[@gregzsidisin]

This was hands-down my favorite Tim Dodd video. Not only was the subject incredibly fascinating, but Tim is becoming a better interviewer. His enthusiasm leads him to ask great questions, without it getting in the way of the interview so often. The one question I had watching this is: If the second stage heat shield has a geometric offset, does that mean that the aerospike thrust vector has a resulting offset that must be compensated for? Likely through a baseline differential in the thrust chambers, side-to-side? Great job, Tim.

[@oystercatcher943]

Good question. I would guess that when going up the aerodynamics of the offset heatshield at the back don't matter much, but I would think it would matter a bit. It might be so small that you don't need to worry about it and the existing control feedback loop just compensates to steer straight

[@qwertyferix]

I was wondering this, too.

[@johnbenson3024]

I feel like the answer to that has to be yes and controlled through their thrust controls. But if their constantly running some engines hotter that may result in unequal load on the craft… such an unintuitive solution, love this vehicle! It’s like a wonderful explosive puzzle lol

[@cheitanya]

Pretty sure is not geometry offset is a weight offset only and might need compensation but not aerodinâmic.

[@crowaust]

@@johnbenson3024 The engines wouldn't need to run hotter if you play with the spacing of the thrust chambers :)

[@johnweerasinghe4139]

Love Andy's knowledge of the subject. Much more genuine than some CEOs that don't really appear to know the subject thoroughly. Thank you, Tim.

[@RickyDownhillRDH]

What a great start up. I really hope they can make a go of it. Loved the looks on their faces during the test fire. Andy's face shows pride and confidence, Tim's is like a kid opening the worlds best Christmas present! 😂

[@TobyCatVA]

Tim has earned everything that comes his way. He has become a self taught expert on rocketry able to engage with these visionaries as a peer is amazing.

[@DeathValleyDazed]

Tim noticed the bearings in the mounting spindles. Who else would have noticed, let alone care. Andy then explained their purpose. Learning moment for most viewers like me. 💡

[@williamgrissom9022]

@@DeathValleyDazed Termed "Heim joints". They are common for rigid strut mounts where flexible orientation is needed. Auto hobbyists use them for custom AC compressor mounts. Also used where pivoting motion is needed, like custom steering links.

[@eneking2022]

This video exemplifies why Tim was picked for Dear Moon. His enthusiastic humility is infectious. It felt like we were standing there with them as we walked through site. No one else is close to bringing that feeling of intimacy, of sharing the moment with them instead of just watching him do it. I suspect it will be the same when we follow him to the Moon and back. The closest I will come to making the trip so THANK YOU Tim.

[@charleslord2433]

In the 60's we had great journalists like Jules Bergman to help explain the complexities of space travel. Today, we have Tim Dodd. Thanks for being here!!!

[@ryanhamstra49]

I love seeing how companies are pushing boundaries again. Like he mentioned, in the 50’s and 60’s anything that seemed like it had a chance of working, they tried it. Then for 50 years we kinda decided that what we had was good enough and just spent the time refining ‘normal’ rockets. But the past 5-10 years we seem to see a real resurrection of creativity, that is also being taken seriously. The heat shield here is ingenious. Starships flip and burn is a creative, if dangerous and difficult, solution to having a massive ship reentering. Blue origins idea to land on a ship, even if they haven’t yet and everyone knows Spacex for it now, is a Duh! Solution to getting the most out of a booster.

[@ronblack7870]

it's all because commercial space with private funding . it stagnated because it was govt funded so there was no incentive to innovate and much incentive not too. can't have a failure when politicians are involved.

[@simecoic4332]

Yeah. It is shame that today rocket engineers can't fabricate F1 working engine. Despite all blueprints availability. Turbine Gas generator passed the test and that was the only good working part of the F1 engine they produce. Sad.

[@snorttroll4379]

Just land land in water drop landing gear. Simplifies the design

[@williamgrissom9022]

Yes, the rocket industry became very bureaucratic and rigid after the 1960's. It was the opposite of what the public thinks of "rocket science" being cutting-edge and open-minded. By the 1980's, it was "old industry" and the tech fell behind what you would find in a cookie factory. NASA projects imposed a paint-by-numbers method where everything had to be defined ahead of time, with detailed schedules. Anything which couldn't be quantified ahead of time wasn't allowed. It required private companies with private investment to get back to the innovation and exploration allowed in the 1950's. The exception at NASA was JPL with their Mars landing designs and rovers.

[@YolkaholicProductions]

@@ronblack7870 Not to mention NASA's budget, or at least their overall importance to the American public, taking a nosedive

[@bref5532]

I love that we live in an age where we can see all this happening in front of our eyes. Thanks to you Tim and all the CEOs who constantly share their enthusiasm and life's work in such an interesting way.

[@bwjclego]

I love that Tim's ever growing understanding of rocket science just keeps feeding into these tours and interviews to make them better and better. Without that deep knowledge these interviews wouldn't even be half as good. I am stoked to see Stoke's progress.

[@The-Real-Laepi]

I find it really refreshing, that you’re also showing off new startups and they’re amazing work. Sure, it’s most certainly inspired by Starship and F9, but it’s also the most unique Rocket I’ve seen in a long time, which makes it really amazing. Good luck to everyone at Stoke Space! Really hope this thing succeeds.

[@raptor2265]

You do realize that not every vertically-landing, reusable rocket is a copy of Falcon 9, right? If anything, you could say it's a copy of the McDonell Douglass DC-X - the first rocket to take off, hover, and land vertically. There's only so many ways that you can design a rocket, due to the constraints of physics. It's like saying that Airbus is a copy of Boeing - just not quite the case.

[@eneking2022]

Same reason all cars look almost the same now.. defined by the wind tunnel. If ya took the badges off most people couldn’t tell you the maker.

[@The-Real-Laepi]

@@raptor2265 of course not, but they explicitly mentioned Starship as being one of the main things Stoke Space we’re looking at.

[@kenfryer2090]

@@The-Real-Laepi starship is a copy of Flash Gordon a ridiculous design forced into production by an idiot and a narcissistic bastard

[@My_initials_are_O.G.cuz_I_am]

Can't wait to see them fly. One could say I'm... ... Stoked.

Boo! Your pun is bad and you should feel bad.

[@My_initials_are_O.G.cuz_I_am]

@ You know... All you did was make me very tempted to pun "Sue me." with "Suomi", given your Finnish name.

[@theheresiarch3740]

This punster must be stopped, he's crossing languages now

[@Awrethien]

Thats so wrong.. your right, but its still wrong lol.

[@ZaphodHarkonnen]

Take my upvote :FuturamaFry:

[@LovesCuteokole]

Capturing energy from re-entry heating to power the expander cycle engine for the re-entry burn could the most under rated statement made in this video.

[@enkilugal3282]

These people are our National Hero's. Not the basketball, baseball, football...etc. types splattered on the news. I am so impressed by the intelligence of the people involved here. Thank you for sharing this video.

[@Kordi197]

I'm soooo excited to see Hopper fly. This launch system sounds so amazing.

[@MichaelCox]

So this one's Hopper and the SpaceX one was Hoppy, right? Gotta be clear here

[@pyrobreather1]

SpaceX is Starhopper or Hoppy, so I guess this is just Hopper

[@donjones4719]

It was nice to hear Andy refer to SpaceX by name and use the term hopper. Some companies flinch from mentioning another company, they don't want to be seen as an imitator. Kinda silly but it's prevalent.

[@UncleManuel]

I just friggin love it when Tim totally can nerd out with the CEO and gets his mind blown by all the little & large genius bits. 😁😎🤟 And years of watching Tim, Scott and playing KSP have prepared me for understanding the majority of what these guys were talking about... ✌️

[@NoBaconForYou]

Video games are so amazing. Such a blessing and a curse lol

[@boombazzled]

Andy is so exited about showing his cool new rocket, he truly is the best ceo of an aerospace company. He looks like he actually cares, stoke space is not just his toy or his pet, it is his child and he cares for it that way. Stoke space could really grow to become one of the biggest aerospace companies, and I am excited to witness it!🚀

[@ALTruckerDad]

This is what many people don't get about competition. Everyone learns from everyone, and improvements come quickly.

[@moss_fetttt]

I've been following Stoke for a very long time and it's nice to see them featured in one of my favorite aerospace channels! All the best to you and Stoke.

[@ryandempsey4830]

They've barely even existed for more than a couple years and you said this over a year ago.... hmm

[@moss_fetttt]

@@ryandempsey4830 ? i was following them ever since their first channel upload, i just like looking at aerospace startups

[@andreworeilly1]

Unbelievably cool that Stoke test fired their full flow staged combustion engine a few days ago that Tim was so impressed that they were building in this video. Congratulations!!

[@colinbrazier8511]

I am now a major Stoke fan. How can I follow their progress? So adventurous, so many new ideas. Thank you to Andy and Tim for this education. Jus WOW!

[@PrimordialEconomics]

All you need to know is SpaceX will likely already have started a colony on Mars before this team is able to work out full reusability.

[@JonMartinYXD]

@@PrimordialEconomics Please don't bring Elon Musk fanboy-ism into the space launch market. Yes SpaceX has done some great stuff - and pretty much put Roscosmos out of the commercial launch business - but Musk's Mars colony ambitions are nonsensical, and with Starship we are seeing the same problems that have plagued Tesla: Musk overpromises and underdelivers. The first convoy of Starships to Mars was supposed to leave Earth orbit by the end of 2022.

[@reinoud6377]

well I first have to see SpaceX launch Starship in the first place and it isn't looking that promising

[@skyrope9446]

@@PrimordialEconomics I honestly dont even see why this matters. Its awesome to see small companies tackle the enourmous task of building a fully reusable rocket. SpaceX was also a really small company and people were probably saying the same thing about spacex's goals two decades ago.

[@305dreamhonda]

@@JonMartinYXDsure bash Musk and his companies, but look at what they have accomplished and now we are seeing ripple affects from companies like Stoke. Stoke is following and leading too, great things could happen. They may be late but they do the impossible. Proving naysayers like you wrong everyday.

[@mobayguy]

I was a young child when I watched men walk on the moon. How incredible it is to see today's young visionaries doing amazing things that only NASA could have done in the past. We're really moving forward now and faster. Stoke gives a good feeling - Smart, Focused, Capable and not self engrossed. I think Andy and his team are going to really exceed expectations. Best of everything to them.

[@serronserron1320]

And hopefully we will see it again sooner rather than later

[@gordonicus4637]

What a cool guy Andy is! Clearly he has a brilliant team around him as well... I wish them all success and can't wait to follow the progress of this amazing concept!

[@brown2889]

I agree. These guys are brilliant! Exciting.

[@bradnarraway9141]

Only just got around to watching this, but the amount of access that Andy gave you and the clarity with which he talked about all the concepts really gives you confidence in his idea, at the very least! Ironically I'm more confident at this stage in his plans for the 2nd stage than for the booster, but that might just be because I saw so much of the hardware for the 2nd stage in this video. I'm excited to follow along on their journey (which I'm sure will include some breathtaking successes and some spectacular failures!) and see if they can achieve all the goals they've set out for themselves. And thank you Tim and Ryan, of course, for bringing all this content to us, and for making it easy enough that even us non-engineers can understand 😊

[@fusspot57]

This so exciting! I'm 65 years old and was in utter awe of the Apollo missions when I was a kid. Things are getting really interesting now with the wonders of SpaceX ...and now this! Please God, please don't let me die before seeing all these wonderful things in use in Space. What a time to be alive!

[@Versatilty]

It may not be the sexiest looking ship but she's now officially the one I am most excited to see. Thank you Tim for giving us this insight into a really unique and unheard of project.

[@Mr2winners]

The shape shure is gone be ehhhhmm interesting

[@PrimordialEconomics]

There will be humans already on Mars by the time this team works out full reusability. Unless Bill Gates has Elon epsteined before he can achieve it. This company is funded by Bill Gates.

[@drmosfet]

You referred to it as a her and the bottom is bigger than her top, so what song 🎵 come to mind.

[@moekitsune]

These guys are incredibly underrated, I love their upper stage concept!

[@AdamBoothUK]

Nice to see a leader that isn’t a “quirky” genius but instead just seems quietly competent and very engaged. Hope they manage to pull something amazing together.

[@danlehman1895]

There's something so cool about a style of journalism where the journalist isn't a total expert, but knows enough to ask the kinds of questions ordinary people want to know the answers to and can understand. Tim is personally invested in the knowledge gain, and it makes the whole interaction with the expert rewarding for everyone.

[@AllenLeland]

This was a really really cool video, and I think it is awesome that Tim is able to have Rocket Companies reaching out to him now! I think it is awesome because of how well Tim can do the interviews. I feel he is doing really well at bridging the gap between the rocket expert and the normal space enthusiasts :)

[@MMOOOOSSEE]

Awesome. I just finished the 5 plus hour interview with lex. Keep it up. Happy to support by being a member for 2 years 2 months 1 day. To be exact.

[@EverydayAstronaut]

Wow!!! Thank you so much!!! You help make this all possible!

[@MMOOOOSSEE]

@@EverydayAstronaut absolutely my pleasure. You make learning fun again. I appreciate the like and the reply. I edited the days I was a member and lost your like. Not sure what happened but either way. Thanks for all you do. Can’t wait to see starship launch. I’ll be watching your coverage.

[@Muskar2]

@@MMOOOOSSEE It's a defensive feature by KZbin to make sure people don't edit bad things into a creator-favorited comment

[@MMOOOOSSEE]

@@Muskar2 yea I figured. It makes total sense. People could write nasty things and a creator would have it’s like on it not knowing what they liked. Thanks for clarification. I Got my like back. Thanks Tim

[@Yutani_Crayven]

Man, seeing stuff like this just makes me so happy. There are so many people working on so many amazing things in so many amazing companies. And they all make a compelling case, and they all innovate, and I'm rooting for all of them. This is truly the new space age. Let's hope that it'll last. I wish all the success in the world to every single one of them. Godspeed!

[@seantiz]

Another great company that values innovation and iteration. Best of luck team Stoke.

[@biplaneflights]

Stoke Space's upper stage is pure genius in so many ways. Using liquid hydrogen to cool a heat shield makes so much sense in a reusable vehicle. With one simple design, you solve multiple problems. Just brilliant. Thank you for sharing your exciting journey.

[@R4wF4ce]

First off, wow, this company is amazing. I love that I get to be alive in another golden age of space flight and exploration. Second, it's always a bit hard to commit to an hour long video that is chalk full of technical jargon that requires full focus to grasp.... but at the same time, I'm always glad to do it when the moment is right. Your content is amazing, truly inspiring to a new generation of space obsessed people. It's been so fun to learn alongside you these past years.

[@DmitriVanderbilt]

First the 5 hour podcast with Lex and now this (and the upcoming rocket start up video), it's practically Christmas for your fans and subscribers. Congrats on dearmoon, and keep up the great work Tim and Team 😁

[@OliverTheSpaceNerd]

Yes indeed! It’s an awesome time!

[@matthewarend7197]

Holy cow! This is amazing stuff. These guys seem to be taking the “best part is no part” philosophy that Elon always espouses to a whole other level. It’s all so pragmatic and intuitive. Loved this interview and I can’t wait to see how these guys develop this idea.

[@spillcoleman]

Happened to come across this company when looking around at places I might end up working someday…cool to see you covering it in a full video

[@willemelliw]

I like the way Andy talks about it as if it just manufacturing a fridge or something 🙂He's so excited to present their idea and progress to the world, I definitely will follow this closely, thanks Tim for the impressive documentary again!

[@hjpev6469]

The idea of using fuel to cool the heat shield is so neat. It actually reminds me a bit of SpaceX’s plan to have Starship “sweat” fuel on re-entry. If anything Stokes has a better design because they don’t have to worry about clogged pores in the heatshield (which I believe was the flaw that killed the sweaty starship proposal)

[@joshjones6072]

I was thinking that too. Imagine if Starship used that idea for active cooling. How cool would that be?

[@dmedme9268]

Because of you, your channel and crew; it is LITERALLY having a positive impact on the space industry! People are getting to see startups, people are investing in startups, because they are seeing things that are, quite frankly, being shown, and viewed on THIS channel! That is just so awesome to me and something you just don’t really see.. (well, we might see it, but not in a positive context for anything …so not that I need to tell you and your guys to keep up the amazing work; but definitely keep up the amazing work!! It is so exciting to see the start ups and companies come to you and your crew and people investing in the start ups because of what they see on this channel. And I feel like I’m just scratching the surface with this comment! Incredible, incredible stuff!!

[@darkdraconis]

Never seen so little negativity in a community, bloody hell even the new comment section is wholesome af Great job at building this community Tim!

[@LG-ct8tw]

Andy Lapsa a rocket geek in his domain, enjoying knocking the socks off of another space geek and ours in the process. I really really enjoyed it. Wish Stoke Space all the success. And thank you Tim.

[@KenOtwell]

This is the first time I've actually realized that Starship is really a pathfinder and not the end-all of rocket design. Sweet!

[@angadsingh9314]

same. I am so hyped.

[@yuvrajbanerjee8578]

Yeah, I forgot that other companies like spacex could exist and really push the boundaries. It seems like all of the attention has been on spacex, so I'm glad we're seeing other future minded companies being shown.

[@davecrupel2817]

All designs should be seen as "pathfinders" in this regard. Never an end-product. Things can always be improved. :)

[@bman5988]

This is all very exciting. As soon as Tim watches the visualization in the video I understood exactly how this thing is going to work and it’s so simple and elegant and then seems so obvious. That’s how really good ideas work, it seems like it should always have been done that way. Can’t wait to see this sucker fly!

[@Carhill]

Phenomenal interview Tim! I am so grateful that not only are these smaller endeavours getting a chance to share what they are working on, but it's being done in such a way that they can discuss the tiny intricacies of not only the launch vehicle but the entire operation. To hear how design decisions are impacted by so many factors, then delving into them is next level. You don't get this in documentaries, unless they are discussing some technology from the far-flung past, and they **maybe** managed to find an engineer who worked on the project, and even then, seldom go into so much detail. Amazing stuff.

[@ferventheat]

From the very expensive, sloth-like progress of the shuttle days, space launches have come a long way. The golden age of exploration. Thanks for the low down on the awesome team Stoke.

[@Andstronaut]

There's a reason why Tim is ALWAYS invited to cool places like this. He's just a great content creator for all of us! Thanks Tim for the amazing content you brought down to earth

[@tubefish666]

Tim, the master of that EPIC aerospike video, getting invited by a company doing aerospike engines. Congratulations, well deserved. Stoke Space are coming into this market with pretty interesting ideas. Wishing Tim and Stoke many happy starts and landings!

[@philipgiacalone5605]

Tim Dodd is a highly valuable national treasure. Thanks for introducing us to the truly impressive innovation happening at Stoke Space. Look forward to following their progress. Another terrific video, Tim.

[@TheOptimuspringles]

Andy and Tim having a genuine interest in each others points and insights, and thier back n forth is great to see. So glad you were picked for DearMoon Tim, you truly deserve it for all of the knowledge you bring to us normals. 👍🌒

[@kingkea3451]

Awesome design and absolutely fascinating to hear the CEO talking about it (and it's awesome to see his eyes light up while he does) - this is the sort of stuff that is inspiring me to pursue a career in the aerospace industry. One more year of my degree and I'll be able to enter exactly that!

[@rockapedra1130]

This is exactly what we want to see! Many different innovative design companies competing with different designs and a quick build, test and redesign cycle. This thing looks great!

[@GregWilson635]

I generally don't watch hour long videos .... but that was sooo cool, I couldn't stop watching. Definitely going to keep an eye on Stoke Space.

[@carpandrei7493]

Sometimes I watch videos like this just to get soaked on the sheer enthusiasm of these people having an idea and going for it. I love their mindset: build , test, redesign, repeat until it works. This makes engineering even greater! It's a gain a great time to become an engineer or a craftsman. Tim, you are awesome for providing us with such high quality documentaries! Well done Tim, well done! And I wish great success to Stoke Space! They have an awesome vehicle in the making!

[@MrGoesBoom]

This is one of the things I love about your channel, you've not only got enough enthusiasm for space for all of us, but you get out there and show us all this cool stuff and do a great job of both breaking it down and asking the questions about stuff we really want to know...not the multitude of crap mainstream media always seems to care about. Probably why these businesses love having you out there EDIT: Also I love what these guys are doing...so many new space providers popping up and trying new or different things. It's a great time to be interested in space!

[@TheMrCougarful]

Great interview. It's great to see them sharing their tech, rather hiding everything unnecessarily. Moving the ball down the field.

[@DaveInPA2010]

Fantastic Tim, and Stoke too! Tim’s look of sheer joy and delight when the engine fired up was priceless!

[@craigsinnott296]

I love that he appears to apply common sense to every design challenge, love that he is sharing his process.

[@oeliamoya9796]

What a knowledgeable CEO. You can see his love of this project from his constant smiling. That is his dream job

[@dustinweatherby5518]

Wow Tim this is one of the most interesting interviews/tours you've don'e so far! I can't wait to see where this company ends up in the future. Their first design is so ambitious and exciting that I can only imagine that they are on the road to greatness! Fantastic work yet again Tim, I wish you much health and happiness!

[@mukamuka0]

This is genius! I don't know how scalable this is to larger size but this is cool!

[@davidvomlehn4495]

You're on target with scaling issues, but that shouldn't be a big problem for a while. NASA has done research on significantly larger heat shields

[@trikrein]

Doesn’t necessarily to scale up much if at all. Not all launch solutions need to be able to handle all payloads. As is this will be able to handle the majority of current customer needs. And will be highly cost competitive with full reusability.

[@seldoon_nemar]

Tim, you always impress me with your interviews. you have the perfect balance of crowdsource questions, personal depth of knowledge, and being an amazing communicator and personality. 38:54 oh man, seeing the pressure boundary pushing it's way out to couple with the end up the nozzle gives me chills. reminds me those famous shuttle startup recordings

[@OrangeDurito]

Excellent video Tim! This video is full of gems - on one hand, it’s the ingenious designs and cool technical details of how exactly they are tackling the big challenges of upper stage re-entry, on the other it’s all those interesting nuggets of information about design decisions and tradeoff quintessential to aerospace industr. Then you have a cool level-headed calm CEO who knows his stuff and talks about the rocket so articulately and as always, your fantastic infectious enthusiasm - tie all of this together and you get an awesome video which is a savory delight to any rocketry fan. Thank you so much for doing what you do!

[@parsonsenergy]

Thank you soooo much Tim. As an SSTO advocate I believe Stoke's hybrid Aerospike is yet another step toward an SSTO solution. There is yet another thermodynamic solution on the horizon which will transend these current solutions by a magnitude of order all within our lifetime... Keep up your great work..

[@witext]

I was blown away already and then they hit us with the methalox full flow staged combustion, like holy these people have high aspirations and I hope they're able to execute, the CEO really seems like he has his head in the right space

[@firefly4f4]

"No, we're going to go all the way; we're going to go full flow." My jaw dropped.

[@ro887]

That actively cooled heat shield is genius! How is it no one else have thought of this?

[@andylaweda]

As they say in the video, actually very little is new (as an idea) - what's new this time is someone implementing the idea. The idea of using a hydrogen-fueled stage with an actively cooled heatshield was proposed in 1964 by Phil Bono of Douglas Aircraft (it was called ROMBUS). It didn't get picked up or supported/funded, so it remained a concept.

[@matteotronu94]

i mean even starship was supposed to have an active cooled, micro-perforated heatshield in the first place, they settled on the carbon tiles only in their latest iteration

[@deansmits006]

I figure someone else thought of it, but the computation in designing it, and material science may not have been there at the time to allow further progression. That's the nice thing about this era in spaceflight; the materials and compassion have progressed and democratized enough to allow smaller companies to make rockets, not just governments. Much cheaper and faster, for traditional chemical rockets

[@Kyzyl_Tuva]

Wow! Super impressive overview of what Stoke is doing. I love it. Thank you Tim.

[@traveloguebySandeep]

No words to write my enthusiasm here. All the things they are working on.. adapted and refined in the best possible way. The idea of an actively cooled head shield combined with the idea of Aerospike... It's really a groundbreaking idea.. all the best guys.. a request for Tim.. please make another video.. we need to know their progress from you.. it's very nice to hear you discussing tech with these geniuses..

[@gliebzeit]

Thank you, Tim, so very much for this interview and walk-through. Incredible.

[@stefanomorandi7150]

this upper stage is truly unique! awesome looking ring of nozzles, actively cooled shield which also gives an evaporative cushion for reentry... i cant recall something similar being done before

[@ZoeFPV]

So cool- glad to see there is still amazing people doing amazing things for the next generation of space flight vehicles.

[@failureisnotoptional929]

So good to hear two bright and modest people discussing such an interesting subject. The engineering rationale behind design decisions taken is fascinating.

[@douggraham5812]

That's a REAL engineer. The way he thinks is simple, logical, comprehensive, synergistic. It's wonderful to see people like that think, talk, explain.

[@Daniel38243]

Tim, this is sick. Thanks so much for sharing this with us. I always wanted to know more about this company and now I have very high faith that they will succeed and I can’t wait to see videos of that hop test even if it’s a failure or succeeds they’re still making progress.

[@gunjangupta6690]

Unbelievably innovative - I have to use those words for them. So many practical innovations that make sense AFTER you hear about it from Stoke Space, but are not obvious until you hear about it. So cool!

[@ardag1439]

Holy bloody side of the moon in tarnation, that heat shield cooling is clever as hell!

[@NAMCBEO]

I really like Andy's open transparency about the fundamentals involved. He wants people to understand the basics without all the smoky mystery, it gives you confidence in his work, my kind of people !

[@7cle]

These guys love talking to you. You learnt their stuff and know enough to respond and interact in such a way that makes anyone watching want to be part of the adventure and invest in the business.

[@toreyweaver9708]

I really like that CEO. I think these guys are going to go places. He has a very non-alien Elon musk vibe about him. Great coverage, Tim! Always stoked to see cool video drops like this.

[@davidbowerman6433]

Now that is a truly revolutionary design! I have seen some "out of the box" thinking before, but this is next level. I hope they get it airborne. Simplify, simplify, simplify... The first time I have seen an Aerospike that looks light enough to work. Not to mention the ingenious heat shield using the fuel both inside and outside to form a barrier to the plasma.

[@Dusty0116]

A heartfelt thank you for this interview and tour of Stoke Space! It was extremely gripping and interesting to see what they are planning to do. It would be both fun and interesting to sit both Andy and Elon down at a table and watch them talk rockets! 😁

[@bradisaacson4656]

I understood like 10% of this presentation. Especially the "this instead of that" stuff. What I loved was the pure joy in the fulfillment of the unique design elements coming together in the final realization of the dream:. A very unique space flight vehicle. Awesome!

[@gravityawsome]

The more Space Companies the better.

[@samsonsoturian6013]

You never heard of a market bubble?

[@countryman032]

@@samsonsoturian6013 The strongest will survive.

[@gravityawsome]

@@samsonsoturian6013 Competition and Cooperation is what makes us strong. It is needed always.

[@samsonsoturian6013]

@@countryman032 Dumb luck is a bigger factor

[@samsonsoturian6013]

@@gravityawsome A bubble, by definition, is when funding is given out indiscriminately