100% Reusability, with Andy Lapsa (Stoke Space)

This week on Pathfinder, we welcome back Andy Lapsa, cofounder and CEO of Stoke Space. Stoke has made remarkable strides since Andy's last appearance on the show two years ago. They've grown to over 140 employees and developed innovative full-flow staged combustion cycle engines and reusable upper-stage prototypes. Andy shares his insights on the challenges and progress in creating fully reusable launch vehicles, emphasizing the importance of rapid reusability for reducing costs and increasing availability and reliability.

We dive into Andy's background, including his ten years of experience at Blue Origin and his decision to start Stoke Space to accelerate the pace of innovation. We also discuss:

– The unique technical approach of Stoke and the architecture of their first launch vehicle, Nova
– The strategic decision to focus on second-stage reusability and how it differentiates Stoke from other providers
– Thoughts on the current state of launch and the market potential for multiple providers
– The importance of manufacturing and scalability in achieving high-frequency launches
– Stoke's proprietary software, Fusion, and its role in optimizing operations

And much more...

• Chapters •
00:00 - Intro
00:34 - What's changed since our last episode?
03:04 - Why Andy started Stoke?
07:09 - Andy's time at Blue Origin
09:14 - What makes Stoke different from other launch providers?
12:14 - Focusing on 2nd stage launch first
14:47 - Payload capacity
15:53 - Why has it taken so long for SpaceX to work on fully reusable launch capabilities?
18:36 - Is there a market for multiple launch providers?
21:32 - Growth in launch demand
29:04 - Value proposition for working with Stoke
30:25 - Getting to orbit
36:24 - Minimum viable success
37:59 - Product roadmap post-Nova
40:03 - Investor misconceptions about launch
42:21 - The factory is the product?
44:52 - Fusion
53:29 - What keeps Andy up at night?
54:47 - Funding
55:19 - Stoke's big vision
56:12 - Who plays Andy in the movie about Stoke?

• Show notes •
Stoke’s website — https://www.stokespace.com
Stoke’s socials —   / stoke_space  
Andy’s socials —   / andylapsa  
Mo's socials —   / itsmoislam  
Payload’s socials —   / payloadspace   /   / payloadspace  
Pathfinder archive — Watch:    / @arkaeamedia  
Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •
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