U.S. launch startup Stoke Space has secured an additional $350 million in funding, extending the $510 million Series D round announced in October and bringing its total capital raised to $1.34 billion.
The Washington-based company said it had sufficient funding at the end of last year to support the first few flights of its reusable Nova rocket, and the new financing further strengthens its runway ahead of the planned inaugural launch. The company did not disclose the investors participating in the extension round, though previous backers include funds focused on national defense technologies.
Stoke is targeting a first flight of Nova this year. In preparation, the company has been testing its Zenith first-stage engine, including gimbal evaluations and high-performance turbomachinery demonstrations. It has also completed refurbishment of Launch Complex 14 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the historic pad used for John Glenn’s orbital mission in 1962.
Chief Executive Andy Lapsa said the inaugural mission aims to demonstrate high-energy flight capability beyond basic orbital insertion. “We’ll basically go out of orbit on flight one,” he said in an earlier interview, adding that the goal is to show the vehicle can handle demanding trajectories despite its relatively small size.
From the outset, Nova has been designed for full reusability, with Stoke aiming for launch frequencies closer to aircraft operations. The company plans to develop this capability progressively through multiple demonstration flights, including controlled reentry, engine relight, precision targeting over the ocean and hovering maneuvers before recovery attempts.
“The focus for the team, which is still very, very small, is get to orbit,” Lapsa said, describing a step-by-step approach similar to early reusable rocket programs.
