{"id":17083,"date":"2025-10-09T01:57:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T17:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/stoke-space-raises-a-whopping-510m-to-accelerate-work-on-its-fully-reusable-nova-launch-system\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T01:57:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T17:57:33","slug":"stoke-space-raises-a-whopping-510m-to-accelerate-work-on-its-fully-reusable-nova-launch-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/stoke-space-raises-a-whopping-510m-to-accelerate-work-on-its-fully-reusable-nova-launch-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Stoke Space raises a whopping $510M to accelerate work on its fully reusable Nova launch system"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1260\" height=\"709\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/251008-stoke-1260x709.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-893769\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/251008-stoke-1260x709.png 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/251008-stoke-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/251008-stoke-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/251008-stoke-2048x1152.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">An artist\u2019s conception shows the upper stage of Stoke Space\u2019s Nova rocket in orbit. (Stoke Space Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Kent, Wash.-based Stoke Space Technologies today revealed that it has raised $510 million in fresh funding to accelerate development of its fully reusable medium-lift Nova rocket.<\/p>\n<p>The Series D funding round, let by Thomas Tull\u2019s US Innovative Technology Fund, comes in conjunction with a $100 million debt facility led by Silicon Valley Bank. Stoke said the new financing has more than doubled its total capital raised, bringing the figure to $990 million.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis funding gives us the runway to complete development and demonstrate Nova through its first flights,\u201d Stoke co-founder and CEO Andy Lapsa said in a news release. If all goes according to plan, the first Nova rocket is expected to lift off next year from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.<\/p>\n<p>Stoke Space, one of the brightest stars of the Seattle area\u2019s growing space industry, is focusing on building a fully reusable rocket capable of putting two to 20 tons of payload in orbit. The company was founded in 2019 by Lapsa and Tom Feldman, a fellow veteran of Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture. Feldman now serves as Stoke\u2019s chief technology officer.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX has pioneered reusability for its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy first-stage boosters, and Blue Origin has designed the booster of its New Glenn rocket to be reusable. But recovering and reusing the second stage of an orbital-class rocket is a tougher nut to crack. That\u2019s one of the things that SpaceX is working to achieve with its Starship super-rocket \u2014 and that Stoke is working to achieve with Nova.<\/p>\n<p>Stoke Space has developed a liquid-cooled heat shield that could open the way for second-stage reusability, which would lower the cost of access to space. The prospect of cheaper launches is why the startup has attracted nearly a billion dollars in funding from investors including Bill Gates\u2019 Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Industrious Ventures and Y Combinator.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Milestones in Review \ud83d\ude80 |  Stoke Space\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4zDPaPfDVkQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In today\u2019s announcement, Tull praised the Stoke team\u2019s vision and said he was \u201cproud to support their mission in defining the next chapter of U.S. aerospace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLaunch capacity is now a defining factor in the U.S.\u2019s ability to compete and lead in the space economy,\u201d Tull said. \u201cStoke\u2019s pioneering approach to reusable launch systems directly advances our national security and commercial access to orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The investors who joined USIT in the Series D round include Washington Harbour Partners LP, General Innovation Capital Partners, 776, Breakthrough Energy, Glade Brook Capital, Industrious Ventures, NFX, Sparta Group, Toyota Ventures and Woven Capital.<\/p>\n<p>                    GEEKWIRE 200<\/p>\n<p>                <span style=\"font-size: 11px; color: #aaa; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.5px; font-weight: 600;\"><br \/>\n                    Presented by<br \/>\n                <\/span><\/p>\n<p>                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/JPMC_Logo_Standard_Black_RGB-2.png\" alt=\"Sponsor Logo\" style=\"max-height: 16px; height: auto;\"><\/p>\n<p>                #10<\/p>\n<p>                    Stoke Space<\/p>\n<p>                            <svg width=\"16\" height=\"16\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"#0077b5\"><path d=\"M19 0h-14c-2.761 0-5 2.239-5 5v14c0 2.761 2.239 5 5 5h14c2.762 0 5-2.239 5-5v-14c0-2.761-2.238-5-5-5zm-11 19h-3v-11h3v11zm-1.5-12.268c-.966 0-1.75-.79-1.75-1.764s.784-1.764 1.75-1.764 1.75.79 1.75 1.764-.783 1.764-1.75 1.764zm13.5 12.268h-3v-5.604c0-3.368-4-3.113-4 0v5.604h-3v-11h3v1.765c1.396-2.586 7-2.777 7 2.476v6.759z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/p>\n<p>                            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.geekwire.com\/favicon-32x32.png\" alt=\"GeekWire\" style=\"width: 16px; height: 16px;\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Defense and Space Manufacturing \u2022 Kent, Washington<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Stoke said the fresh funding will be used to expand production capacity for the Nova launch vehicle and finish refurbishment of Launch Complex 14 \u2014 the pad from which John Glenn lifted off to become the first American in orbit in 1962. Stoke also plans to invest in its supply chain, its Boltline software for project management, and the infrastructure that will be needed for high-cadence launch operations.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the Florida launch facility, Stoke has a 168,000-square-foot headquarters facility in Kent \u2014 not far from Blue Origin\u2019s HQ \u2014 and a 75-acre test facility in Moses Lake, Wash.<\/p>\n<p>While SpaceX and Blue Origin are focusing on heavy-lift rockets such as Starship and New Glenn, Stoke is targeting the medium-lift launch market. Even though Stoke Space hasn\u2019t yet launched a rocket to orbit, it was&nbsp;added to the U.S. Space Force\u2019s list of providers&nbsp;for national security launches this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve designed Nova to address a real gap in launch capacity, and the National Security Space Launch award, along with our substantial manifest of contracted commercial launches, affirms that need,\u201d Lapsa said. \u201cThe fresh support from our investors and government partners enables our team to remain laser-focused on bringing Nova\u2019s unique capabilities to market.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An artist\u2019s conception shows the upper stage of Stoke Space\u2019s Nova rocket in orbit. (Stoke Space Illustration) Kent, Wash.-based Stoke Space Technologies today revealed that it has raised $510 million in fresh funding to accelerate development of its fully reusable medium-lift Nova rocket. The Series D funding round, let by Thomas Tull\u2019s US Innovative Technology [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4329,345],"class_list":["post-17083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-startups","tag-stoke-space"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17083"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17083\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}