The agreement supports Planet’s long-term strategy of maintaining and expanding its constellations through a diversified portfolio of launch providers spanning emerging innovators and established players in the US and internationally. Planet says the approach is intended to ensure steady and persistent access to orbit as it grows its fleet to meet rising customer demand.<\/p>\n
Under the deal, Planet receives primary payload rights, granting the company scheduling flexibility to specify launch dates and target orbital planes for its payloads. The missions will launch from SLC-14, the historic site used to send John Glenn into orbit as the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. Future missions under the contract will align with Stoke Space’s technology development path, which includes orbital flight demonstrations of its Nova Pathfinder vehicle beginning in 2027 and the subsequent rollout of Nova Block 2, designed to deliver more than 15 metric tons to low Earth orbit in a fully reusable configuration.<\/p>\n
“We are proud to partner with Planet, an industry pioneer that has led by example in growing and evolving commercial space,” said Andy Lapsa, Co-Founder and CEO of Stoke Space. “Providing dependable, customer-driven launch services is at the core of what we are building at Stoke.” Will Marshall, Co-Founder and CEO of Planet, said the company needs launch partners who move quickly. “Stoke Space is building an exciting fully reusable launch capability, and we’re partnering to drive forward highly responsive launch options.”<\/p>\n
Stoke Space is developing its fully reusable Nova rocket fleet to deliver flexible, high-frequency, aircraft-like launch services aimed at commercial, defense, and civil space markets. The company recently announced a planned expansion that includes construction of a second launchpad and recovery infrastructure at SLC-14 in preparation for upcoming flight campaigns.<\/p>\n
For Planet, the agreement reinforces its multi-provider launch strategy and commitment to continual constellation maintenance and expansion. For Stoke Space, the deal advances its goal of providing dependable, customer-driven launch services as it builds toward high-frequency reusable operations.<\/p>\n
Later today, Planet’s Chief Space Officer James Mason will join the keynote panel “Global space governance: national sovereignty vs. commercial scale” at the Reuters Space and Satellite Summit at 11:55 am ET, where he will highlight Planet’s multi-provider launch strategy and this announcement. The next milestones named for the Nova program are the orbital flight demonstrations of the Nova Pathfinder vehicle beginning in 2027, followed by the rollout of Nova Block 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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