Stoke Space is developing rockets designed to be fully and rapidly reusable, with both main stages able to return after launch and fly again. Founded by Andy Lapsa and Tom Feldman, the company is building its Nova family of rockets around that approach. The goal is repeated use of the same flight hardware.
The funding comes as launch providers face growing demand for more missions and greater satellite capacity. The European Space Agency is considering increasing the flight rate of Ariane 6 and Vega C because it expects more satellite deployments toward 2030. In the United States, the Space Force has also been adding launch providers to strengthen and diversify access to orbit.
Stoke announced on September 8 that it completed the initial closing of a $1 billion Series E, taking its total capital raised to $2.3 billion. Point72 Ventures and Spark Capital co led the round. General Innovation, Glade Brook Capital, US Innovation Technology, Washington Harbour Partners, Woven Capital, Y Combinator, and other new and existing investors also participated.
Rocket reuse affects both the cost and availability of launches. Traditional rockets discard much or all of their hardware after a mission, while partially reusable systems recover only certain parts. Stoke is designing Nova so that both stages can return and be used again.
According to the company, full reusability could reduce the dependence of launch capacity on how quickly new rockets can be manufactured. Using the same hardware repeatedly could also support more frequent missions and, over time, missions that involve returning cargo from orbit. More launches require more available hardware.
National security agencies are also seeking a larger pool of launch providers. Stoke was added to the U.S. Space Force National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 program in fiscal 2025. The program is intended to increase the number of companies that can compete to launch national security payloads.
“Stoke is pursuing what we see as one of the most important opportunities in space transportation: making launch fully reusable, reliable, and scalable,” said Chris Morales, Partner at Point72 Ventures. “Having supported Stoke through multiple stages of its growth, we believe this company has demonstrated both the exceptional technical progress and the ambition to build a launch system capable of serving the market at industrial scale. That progress has strengthened our conviction in the team. We are proud to support Stoke as it moves toward flight and high-cadence operations.”
A major part of the new capital will go toward preparing Nova Pathfinder for its first orbital flight. Stoke is targeting early 2027 for that mission. Pathfinder is expected to carry payloads to orbit while testing the rocket architecture, reuse technology, and operating processes that the company plans to carry into later Nova vehicles.
Stoke will also invest in manufacturing, testing, launch, and recovery infrastructure as it prepares for more frequent missions. Those plans build on earlier investments in production capacity and the activation of Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The company is preparing for flight.
Alongside Pathfinder, Stoke is already developing a larger rocket called Nova Block 2. The vehicle is designed to carry 15 metric tons to low Earth orbit inside a five meter payload fairing, the protective structure that surrounds the payload during launch. Its first flight is targeted for 2029, with production and flight frequency expected to increase after that.
“Nova Pathfinder is how we turn the promise of Nova into flight-proven capability,” Lapsa said. “Pathfinder allows us to learn quickly, reduce risk, and prove the hardest parts of a fully reusable architecture in flight. Nova Block 2 scales those lessons into the capacity and cadence our customers are asking for. This investment allows us to move with urgency on both and brings us closer to delivering payloads to any orbit at any time.”
Lapsa and Feldman founded Stoke in 2019 after concluding that fully and rapidly reusable rockets could support future space transportation. Lapsa serves as CEO, while Feldman serves as CTO..
Nova is designed so that both main sections of the rocket can return after a mission instead of being discarded. Its upper stage uses a metallic heat shield that is actively cooled during reentry. The first stage uses a full flow staged combustion engine, a rocket engine design in which the propellants pass through turbines before entering the main combustion chamber. Stoke says the overall system is intended to reduce the refurbishment needed between flights and allow vehicles to return to service more quickly.
The company describes its broader objective as providing transportation “to, through, and from space.” Beyond launching satellites, Stoke is designing Nova for missions that could eventually move assets in space and bring cargo back to Earth. Its technology development has received support from NASA, the U.S. Space Force, the Defense Innovation Unit, and the National Science Foundation.
The Series E follows several large funding rounds. In January 2025, Stoke announced a $260 million Series C, bringing its total funding at the time to $480 million. Investors included Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Industrious Ventures, Leitmotif, Point72 Ventures, Seven Seven Six, the University of Michigan, Woven Capital, and Y Combinator.
In October 2025, Stoke announced a $510 million Series D together with a $100 million debt facility. The company later extended that round to $860 million by February 2026, bringing total funding at that point to $1.34 billion. The money was directed toward Nova development, production capacity, and Launch Complex 14.
The Series E raises that total to $2.3 billion. Point72 Ventures and Spark Capital are the co lead investors in the new round, which Stoke plans to use as it moves Pathfinder toward its first orbital mission and develops Nova Block 2 at the same time.
