Stoke Space big bang echoes across the Basin
MOSES LAKE – A loud explosion that echoed across the Columbia Basin Tuesday night resulted from a planned structural test at the Stoke Space Technologies facility at the Port of Moses Lake, officials said.
Area residents said the big bang could be heard as far away as Ephrata and Soap Lake. There were no reported injuries or unintended damage associated with the testing.
In a statement issued to the Columbia Basin Herald newspaper, Stoke Space Technologies spokesman John Taylor said the test involved pressurizing a propellant tank with inert, non-flammable liquid nitrogen – intended to simulate extremely cold temperatures experienced by a rocket in flight – until the tank reached its designed failure point.
And then it burst. The explosive noise was reported around 8:50 p.m.
“Although the noise was louder than expected, the test proceeded as designed, and there was never any danger to our team or to the surrounding community,” the statement said. But the company did apologize for the disturbance and expressed gratitude for the continued support shown by the Moses Lake community.
Based in Kent, Washington, the company has been using its Moses Lake test facility in development of a “rapidly reusable Nova launch vehicle.” Such rockets could provide “high-frequency” orbital missions to outer space for both commercial and defense purposes, according to the Stoke Space Technologies website.
Earlier this month, the company announced it had received new financing that increased its total capital to $990 million and that it has made “considerable progress” in refurbishing a launch complex at Cape Canaveral, Florida that is scheduled for activation in early 2026.
