Mind-Blowing Rocket Hop Success in Central Washington State
Stoke Space Achieves Successful Hop Test with Its Rocket in Central Washington State
Image credit Google
Stoke Space, a four-year-old Seattle-area firm, today achieved a significant victory in its effort to construct a fully reusable launch system with the execution of a successful up-and-down test of its "Hopper" experimental rocket vehicle.
At 11:24 a.m. PT, Hopper2 completed a 15-second flight at Stoke's test site at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington.
According to Stoke CEO Andy Lapsa, the test vehicle was launched 30 feet into the air by a hydrogen-fueled rocket engine and landed 15 feet from the launch pad.
It's the final test in our Hopper development program, and by all accounts, it's been a great success, according to Lapsa.
The work done this spring with the Hopper1 early prototype and the static engine firing for Hopper2 is continued with today's test.
"This Hopper program was geared to develop the reusable second-stage system, and specifically prove out a lot of the new and novel technology elements that go into it," Lapsa said today.