Stoked (4/7/23)

Good morning and welcome to the 164 of you who joined us this week. Happy to have you here.

In today's edition...🧑‍💻 Stoke sells software🌔 China seeks moon partners✨ Our weekend picks

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. 

Stoke Space Unveils Fusion Tracking Software

Launch company Stoke Space is getting into the software business. 

This week, the Washington-based startup, whose primary mission is building fully reusable rockets, debuted Fusion, a software platform to track physical hardware from “lightbulb to liftoff,” according to its website.  

Stoke Space developed Fusion to fill an internal need after “a history of pain all of us have felt in the industry,” Andy Lapsa, a co-founder of Stoke Space, told Payload. It’s been under development for about two years, but Stoke began using it full-time in November. This week, the company also announced it would sell Fusion to customers, and Brent Bradbury, the head of software at Stoke Space, said the initial interest has been “overwhelming.” 

Use case: Fusion is designed to help companies keep track of parts and their histories amid the quick iteration characteristic of many startups or others doing R&D. “It allows you to do complex things when you don’t know what you’re doing,” Bradbury said. 

The software will track parts over their entire lifetime. For example, if a spacecraft or engine has some kind of anomaly, Fusion will allow employees to quickly determine who made a problematic part, what material it is made out of, as well as find out what other parts might be made of the same material or face similar problems, Bradbury said. 

Going external: Selling Fusion to customers will help other companies in the industry, where tracking parts is a widespread source of frustration, Lapsa said. But taking the product to market will also ensure it continues working well for Stoke Space and other users. 

“If you want your tool to be good in the long run, not just the next two to three years, you need it to have continuous investment. The pattern that you see in a lot of enterprise tools that stay internal is that you put something together and it’s pretty good initially, but then it goes stale,” Lapsa said. “Every investment dollar is going to either building rockets or building software. That’s a decision companies have to make and it usually goes to building the rocket…So by going outside, we think that in the long run, it’s actually going to make a better tool for us in a way that is self-sufficient.”

China and Venezuela Discuss Moon Base Partnership

Beijing is working to shore up international support for its joint lunar program with Russia, and has asked Venezuela to become the first partner on its planned Moon base. 

The head of Venezuela’s space agency met with Chinese officials last week and voiced support for signing an MoU promoting the construction of the International Lunar Research Station. 

The visit was detailed in a statement from China’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory and first reported by SpaceNews. 

The International Lunar Research Station

In June 2021, Russia and China announced the formation of the ILRS, with the goal of building a permanent scientific base on the Moon by the middle of 2035. The complex construction project is split into three phases:

• Stage 1 (present-2025): Conduct uncrewed reconnaissance missions to the lunar surface

• Stage 2 (2026-2030): Commence large-scale cargo delivery

• Stage 3 (2031-2035): Establish lunar communication, energy, technology, and transportation ahead of a permanent crewed presence

China is already investing large sums in the project. Earlier this year, China unveiled designs for its new lunar lander, which aims to transport Chinese astronauts to the lunar surface around 2030.

Searching for sign-ons: China and Russia are calling upon international partners to participate—and help fund the expensive missions. However, China and Russia’s standing on the world stage has made finding willing partners a challenge. If Venezuela follows through with signing the pact, they will be the first partner country to join the ILRS.  

Artemis vs. ILRS: A dual-track to the Moon has emerged between the China-Russia ILRS and the US-led Artemis program, which aims to establish a permanent lunar base by 2030. But, while the ILRS is still searching for its first sign-on, the Artemis Accords have already secured participation and funding from 23 partner countries.

Sponsored

Lifting Humankind to New Heights

NASA's Space Launch System is the world’s most powerful heavy-lift rocket. 

The SLS, including the Boeing-built core stage, is designed to send humanity back to the Moon, on to Mars and into the unexplored.

Learn more about how NASA’s Space Launch System is paving the way for humanity to go farther than it has ever gone before.

In Other News

• Three ISS astronauts moved the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft to an Earth-facing docking port.

• UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi is set to become the first Arab astronaut to conduct a spacewalk when he exits the ISS on April 28. 

• ULA's upcoming Delta IV Heavy NRO launch has been delayed due to a valve issue. 

• SpaceX has punted the April 10 Starship launch date, and is now shooting for the week of April 17. The mega-rocket was fully stacked on Wednesday in preparation for a launch this month.

• Axiom is targeting May 8 for its Ax2 launch to the ISS. Saudi Arabia’s Rayyanah Barnawi is expected to be onboard, making her the first Arab woman in space.

The View from Space

Finally, a picture of Uranus that’s SFW, courtesy of JWST.