Stoke Space hops its upper stage, leaping toward a fully reusable rocket

Enlarge / Stoke Space's Hopper 2 takes to the skies on Sunday in Moses Lake, Washington. (credit: Stoke Space)

At an airfield in Eastern Washington on Sunday, the small launch company Stoke Space flew its upper stage for the first time.

The flight was, admittedly, rather modest. The second-stage rocket only ascended to about 30 feet (9 meters) and traveled just several feet down range. The entire flight was over in 15 seconds.

And yet this was a momentous step for Stoke Space, which is less than 4 years old and has only about 90 employees. The test successfully demonstrated the performance of the company's oxygen-hydrogen engine, which is based on a ring of 30 thrusters; the ability to throttle this engine and its thrust vector control system; as well as the vehicle's avionics, software, and ground systems.