Bill Gates could be Elon Musk’s new competitor. Gates has a reputation as a major investor, thanks to the huge amounts of money he owns. And he has made his point, again, by showing his support for the entrepreneurship and growth of the startup Stoke Space, dedicated to aerospace science.
Bill Gates and Elon Musk work against the clock for the best space rocket
Through Stoke Space’s research work, Bill Gates is allegedly bringing to market a new option for Elon Musk’s SpaceX to compete with. This could further strain the relationship between the two of them by pushing Musk out of the front line of creation.
Musk thought he would be the only innovator by betting on the reuse of space rockets, bringing a concept that in the world of space science and technology was positioned as revelatory. After his early research appeared, Bill Gates looked to Stoke Space to investigate the same cause and pumped a large amount of money into the startup so that it could concentrate on creating reusable space rockets.
Stoke Space has thus revived and was able to launch its Hopper2 rocket. A test flight, the startup’s first, demonstrated the operation of the rocket’s hydrogen-oxygen engine, a model that made its mark thanks to its “regenerative” cooling heat shield.
Nova could be the ultimate project to prove Stoke Space’s success
Now, with Nova, Stoke Space’s new ambition, Bill Gates intends to far surpass Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. For the development of Nova, the startup has received an investment of 100 million dollars.
Andy Lapsa, the CEO of Stoke Space, revealed that he expects Nova to be able to perform several laps in 24 hours, possessing a system that has “a long service life.” In its first stage of development it is known that the special rocket will have 7 LNG/LOX engines. The executive highlighted the rocket’s resistance to damage, as it can operate in passive failure mode. Stage 2 will have a cooled metallic heat shield to allow re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere and a modular LH2/LOX engine.
Lapsa went on to explain that the company will focus on the reusable stage of the space rocket, after working on the design. Bill Gates’ investment will allow the company to continue its research and they took this capital injection as “a vote of confidence” in the company, as a recognition of the immense work done to reach the latest version of the prototype. Lapsa expected Nova’s reaction time to be very fast, thanks to its ability to refit, refuel and fly in record time.
Only time will tell which company will have more impact on society and the international scientific community, showcasing both as a great example of technological entrepreneurship that aims to further advance the science and research possibilities of our planet.
